Iran fired at Kuwait on Thursday as part of its retaliation for U.S. bombardments earlier in the week. Meanwhile, Israeli police said they arrested a settler allegedly involved in an attack on Palestinians last week.
Here's a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.
Iran fires at Kuwait
Sirens sounded in Kuwait early on Thursday, where air defenses intercepted missiles and drones during a "blatant Iranian aggression," the Defense Ministry said in a post on X. It came after U.S. allies Bahrain and Jordan said their air defense systems also intercepted several Iranian air attacks Wednesday.
Fighting between the U.S. and Iran has increased this week after the U.S. hit Iranian rocket launchers on an island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.
Vance rejects use of word ‘war’ to describe fighting
Vice President JD Vance on Thursday rejected the use of the word "war" to describe the U.S. fighting with Iran as he steered clear of predicting that the six-month-old conflict would be over by November's midterm elections, in which Republicans are trying to hang on to their narrow majorities in Congress.
“I wouldn’t call it a war,” Vance said after being asked during a White House press briefing about whether the fighting could be wrapped up before voters cast their ballots in the Nov. 3 congressional elections. “Right now, there is no active shooting.”
The vice president said the U.S. had a "responsibility" to carry out this week's strikes because Iran continues the targeting of commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Vance said he didn’t want to set “artificial timelines.”
“But when you ask, ‘When will this end?’ You’re asking me a question like, ‘When will the Iranians stop shooting at ships?’” Vance said. “I think the reality is, I don’t know the answer to that question. You would have to ask the Iranians.”
Strait of Hormuz traffic remains below pre-war levels
Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains well below pre-war levels due to the risk of Iranian attack if ships do not comply with an Iranian vetting regime. The decline is in sharp contrast to the unhindered navigation before the war.
Last week there were 102 transits, compared with 126 the week before, according to shipping data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence. That compares with 130 or more per day before the war.
Significant amounts of oil, however, continue to flow through the strait due to a shuttle trade in which tanker operators risk going through a southern route near the coast of Oman under the guidance of U.S. forces.
Vance says US is investigating reported airstrike that hit Iranian wedding
Vance said he was briefed on the reported attack at a wedding on Tuesday that Iranian state media said killed five people and injured dozens of others. Vance said "we're investigating it very fully."
Vance said the U.S. never targets civilians in combat but added that “sometimes things happen.”
“We’re investigating it because obviously we care, we want to know,” Vance said. “When our military makes mistakes, they learn from them to try to get better from them.”
U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins previously said the U.S. military was looking into the reports.
Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral Thursday of four victims of the airstrike, Iranian state TV reported.
Mourners carried caskets wrapped in the Iranian flag as families, relatives, soldiers and others accompanied the coffins in the streets of the port town of Kuhestak, located about 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) southeast of Iran’s capital Tehran.
Iranian state TV said on Thursday that a person injured in the attack had died, increasing the death toll to five.
Israeli attacks kill three Palestinians in Gaza, hospital officials say
Israeli attacks killed three Palestinians, including a 15-year-old child, in northern Gaza and Gaza City on Thursday, according to officials at the Shifa hospital, where the casualties were taken.
The Israeli military said that it “identified two terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line and approached the troops in a manner that posed an immediate threat.”
However, officials at the Shifa hospital said the two Palestinians were killed in a “safe area” west of the so-called yellow line, which delineates the part of the Gaza Strip that the Israeli military controls.
Another strike later in the day killed one Palestinian in Gaza City and critically wounded two others, the hospital added.
Israeli military says it has control of strategic area in Lebanon
Israel's military said on Thursday it had taken “operational control” of the strategic Ali Taher ridge area in southern Lebanon, the site of sporadic clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants in recent weeks. It's where Hezbollah is believed to have an extensive underground military facility.
The military said troops had cleared Hezbollah fighters from two underground routes, killing some while others fled. It said operations were ongoing.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.
The Ali Taher hill overlooks several villages as well as main roads leading to the city of Nabatiyeh. Losing control of it would disrupt Hezbollah’s presence and supply lines in the area.
Israeli police make rare arrest of settler over attack on Palestinians
Authorities in Israel arrested an Israeli settler for his suspected role in an attack on a Palestinian home in the occupied West Bank, according to a police statement Thursday.
The statement did not identify the suspect but said he was being held for questioning and that police would request to extend his detention.
The 19-year-old man is believed to have participated in a violent riot in the Palestinian village of Qusra on Saturday, in which settlers threw stones and barricaded themselves inside the home of one of the villagers.
Lebanese man held prisoner in Israel released
A Lebanese man who had been held prisoner in Israel was released Thursday, the first such handover since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war six months ago, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Lebanese officials said.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Israel had agreed to release five Lebanese civilians detained by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.
They were detained after Lebanon provided assistance in searching for the bodies of Lebanese Jewish leaders.
Funeral for 2 Palestinian teens killed by Israeli forces
Mourners attended the funeral on Thursday of two Palestinians, aged 16 and 19, who were killed by Israeli forces the night before in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli troops fired on them while accompanying settlers into the village of Al-Mughayyir. Amin Abu Aliya, a local official, told the Palestinian news agency Wafa that settlers and Israeli soldiers entered the village, attacked two homes and stole sheep.
Israel releases plan to encourage emigration from Gaza
An Israeli official on Thursday released a plan designed to encourage emigration from Gaza. The proposal sets targets of 250,000 people leaving in the first year, 1.1 million within three years and nearly 1.9 million within seven years.
Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Israel would pay countries willing to receive emigrants.
Palestinians in Gaza have rejected the proposal and dismiss Israeli claims that any large-scale departures would be voluntary. Rights groups have said forcing or pressuring the Palestinians to leave could be a potential war crime.