War, latest news. Israel: ‘The UAE warned Netanyahu before 7 October, but he downplayed the threat from Hamas’

Yair Golan, leader of Israel’s left-wing democratic party, has stated that he will join the government if the opposition wins next month’s elections and that he will prioritise tackling violence by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank.

His top priorities will also include ending the war with Iran, the reconstruction of Gaza and the forging of regional alliances, the former military commander told Bloomberg.

Operations at a number of energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading oil exporter, have been suspended following attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen, which left 73 people injured, in what the Saudi authorities have described as a dangerous escalation (see post at 8.22).

The Houthis have attacked the southern cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said in an earlier statement, adding that the injured include women and children.

Kuwait exports around 1 million barrels of crude oil a day, including via ship-to-ship transfers outside the Strait of Hormuz, whilst oil flows through the strait are recovering.

The state-owned producer Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) also delivers goods directly to customers, said Shaikh Khaled Al-Sabah, head of international marketing. The company uses its own tankers and chartered vessels to transport the oil, he said.

Revenue from the Suez Canal rose by 42 per cent in July compared with the previous year, as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to Iranian threats and the Houthi threat in the southern Red Sea led more ships to use the Egyptian waterway.

According to figures from the state statistics agency CAPMAS, a total of 1,340 ships passed through the canal in July. This represents a 27 per cent increase compared with July 2025, and a rise from the 1,208 ships recorded in June, continuing a partial recovery that began at the start of the year.

Following reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been warned around ten days before 7 October of the possibility of a Hamas attack but had taken no action and had not alerted the government, the opposition – in the midst of an election campaign – reacted immediately by demanding that the Prime Minister be held to account.

“The article published this morning, claiming that Netanyahu was warned ten days before the 7 October massacre of Sinwar’s intentions, is true. Netanyahu bears personal and direct responsibility for the mistake that led to the deaths of thousands of Israelis during his term in office. Ignoring the warnings amounts to criminal negligence, which is why he is doing everything in his power to prevent the establishment of a state commission of inquiry that would bring the truth to light”, wrote former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on X.

Saudi Arabia has announced that attacks carried out today by Yemeni Houthi rebels against its energy facilities have caused fires and the temporary suspension of some operations. “This morning, several energy facilities and installations in the southern region of the Kingdom were targeted,” said a source at the Ministry of Energy, quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA). “The attacks caused fires in several locations, leading to a temporary interruption of some operations”, as well as several injuries, the same source added. Riyadh has officially condemned the Houthi attacks.

“Several energy facilities in the southern region of the Kingdom were attacked this morning.” This was announced by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Energy, which added that several people had been injured and were receiving the necessary medical treatment. “The fires caused a temporary disruption to operations, and the authorities are continuing to deal with the aftermath of the attacks,” the ministry said.

Seventy-three people, including women and children, were injured in Saudi Arabia following attacks launched by Yemen’s Houthis against the cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran. This was reported by the spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. In a statement published on X, the spokesperson said that the coalition would respond ‘firmly’ to the attacks, which Riyadh claims targeted civilian and economic objectives. The Houthis, backed by Iran, control much of northern Yemen and have been in conflict with the Saudi-led coalition for years.

“Oil prices will plummet dramatically, just as everything else is plummeting (but even more so!), when we win the war against Iran.” This was written by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, in a post on his social media platform, Truth. “Three dollars a gallon, but eventually they’ll fall below two dollars a gallon. It’ll all happen very quickly, and Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump added.

The price of oil continues to rise following further tensions between the US and Iran, following yesterday’s attack on a Saudi Aramco facility in the Saudi city of Jizan, near the border with Yemen. Brent crude is trading at $98 a barrel (+1%), whilst WTI stands at $93.36, up 2.6 per cent.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has stated that the report published today by *Haaretz* – claiming that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a personal warning from the leader of the United Arab Emirates regarding Hamas’s war plans a few days before the attack on 7 October – is “true”. In a post on X, the leader of the B’Yachad party stated: “The report published this morning, claiming that Netanyahu had been warned 10 days before the 7 October massacre of Sinwar’s intentions, is true. Netanyahu bears personal and direct responsibility for the failure that led to the deaths of thousands of Israelis during his term in office”. Netanyahu’s rival claims that his “ignoring the warnings amounts to criminal negligence, which is why he is doing everything possible to prevent the establishment of a state commission of inquiry that would bring the truth to light”. He adds: “He did not go out into the field. He did not alert the security forces’ top brass. He did not prepare Israel for an attack. And he did not convene the government.”