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US officials confirmed attacks amid footage of explosions around the capital city of Sana’aMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe US and the UK have conducted a further round of strikes against the Houthis in an attempt to stop the rebel group targeting shipping in the southern Red Sea.A joint statement from both countries said that they had conducted “an additional round of proportionate and...

Seals from USS Lewis Puller went overboard during mission off coast of Somalia to seize Iranian weapons, according to US militarySee all our Middle East coverageTwo US Navy Seals who went missing during an operation to seize Iranian weapons bound for Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been declared dead after a 10-day search failed to locate them, the US military has said.US Central Command (Centcom)...

British defence minister says there will be no end to crisis without two-state solution; 25,105 Palestinians killed in Gaza since 7 OctoberSee all our Middle East crisis coverageA total of 25,105 Palestinians have been killed and 62,681 have been injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Sunday.An estimated 178 Palestinians were killed and...

US and Israeli leaders speak a day after Netanyahu again rejected notion of Palestinian statehood, their first call in almost a monthSee all our Middle East crisis coverageFurther updates on the news of a likely Israeli missile strike that destroyed a building in Damascus and reportedly killed a member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have come in on Reuters.Essam al-Amin, head of the al-Mowasat hospital...

As pockets of war multiply across region so does the risk that conflict becomes more contagious and intractableOn Thursday morning the Iranian news website Entekhab ran, without irony, the headline: “Taliban call on Pakistan and Iran to show restraint and urge both sides to settle differences through diplomatic means”.If proof were needed that a new, more dangerous world order may be upon us, the...

Pakistani strike comes day after deadly Iranian attack on Balochistan; US military in Red Sea says it struck 14 Houthi missiles that were ready to be firedSee all our coverage of the Middle East crisisWhile Iran has taken low-level action against Balochistan in the past, Tuesday’s strikes were unusually heavy-handed and Thursday’s retaliatory bombings were the first time that Pakistan has responded with comprehensive...

As tensions in the Middle East continue to rise, this week John Harris speaks to Niku Jafarnia of Human Rights Watch about the regional conflicts. The Rwanda bill passed its third reading and Pippa Crerar, the Guardian’s political editor, reveals what happened behind the scenes. And the former No 10 adviser Gavin Barwell talks about the increasingly vicious struggles within the Conservative partyArchive: GB...

US missile strikes came after a bulk carrier was hit by Houthi drones in the Gulf of AdenThe US military has fired another wave of missile strikes against Houthi-controlled sites, marking the fourth time in a week that it has directly targeted the group in Yemen.The strikes were launched from the Red Sea, hitting more than a dozen sites – the officials told the...

No one reported hurt after weapon hits Genco Picardy bulk carrier in sea off coast of Aden Middle East crisis – live updatesYemen’s Houthi rebels have targeted a US-owned cargo ship with a kamikaze drone just hours after Washington put the group back on its list of global terrorists.The drone smashed into the Genco Picardy bulk carrier late on Wednesday, 70 miles (110km) southeast...

Attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea by the Houthi rebel group in Yemen have been met with airstrikes from the UK and US. Patrick Wintour reportsSince the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October and Israel’s military response in Gaza, there has been an effort by western leaders led by the US to avoid the conflict spreading to the wider region. That...

Foreign minister of UN-recognised government takes same position as Houthis on call to British ministerThe UN-recognised government of Yemen has urged the UK to change its policy in Gaza and back an immediate ceasefire.The call was made by Ahmad bin Mubarak, the foreign minister of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, during a phone conversation on Tuesday with the British Middle East minister, Lord Ahmad. Continue...

Gibraltar Eagle vessel not seriously damaged in assault that raises some doubts over efficacy of UK-US actionMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe Iran-backed Houthi militia group has continued to attack commercial shipping, hitting an American-owned cargo ship with a ballistic missile in defiance of a wave of US and UK strikes on Yemen.The strike against the Marshall Islands-flagged Gibraltar Eagle container ship represented a...

US Central Command says anti-ship cruise missile was fired from Houthi-controlled area of Yemen; Rishi Sunak to face UK parliament for first time since agreeing to actionA video journalist from the Cairo-based television channel Al Ghad was killed in the Gaza Strip on Sunday in a strike that the channel blamed on the Israeli army.In a post on X, the station said it was...

Grant Shapps says UK has no interest in wider Yemen conflict as Rishi Sunak prepares to address MPsMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe UK has no interest in taking part in any wider conflict in Yemen but is “waiting to see what happens” before deciding whether further military strikes against Houthi forces might be needed, the defence secretary has said.Discussing the US-led strikes on...

In today’s newsletter: As David Cameron warns of “flashing red” security risks since 7 October, the Guardian’s Jason Burke explains the dangers of regional escalation involving Iran’s proxies• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. “It is hard to think of a time when there has been so much danger and insecurity and instability in the world,” the UK’s foreign secretary...

US Central Command says missile from Houthi-controlled area of Yemen was launched towards USS Laboon before being shot down by fighter jetsMiddle East crisis – live updatesUS fighter aircraft shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen at one of its warships in the Red Sea, the US military said on Sunday night.The missile was fired towards the USS...

Israeli PM says it is ‘possible and necessary to continue until victory’ in televised press conference, days after South Africa launches genocide case against Israel in The HagueRead all our coverage of the Middle East crisisThe “lights are absolutely flashing red” on the global dashboard, the UK’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, warned as he said it was hard to think of a time when...

World Bank warns of surging energy prices, slower growth and higher inflation as threat rises of disruption to world tradeA prolonged conflict in the Red Sea and escalating tensions across the Middle East risk having devastating effects on the global economy, reigniting inflation and disrupting energy supplies, some of the world’s leading economists warn this weekend.Before a statement expected on Monday by Rishi Sunak...

After second night of US-UK strikes in Yemen against Iran-backed Houthis, fears of wider regional conflict growJoe Biden said on Saturday that the United States has sent a private message to Tehran that “we’re confident we’re well-prepared”, following a second night of US and British strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn on Saturday morning, on his...

US military says second nighttime attack ‘designed to degrade the Houthis’ ability to attack maritime vessels’See all our Middle East crisis coverageIsrael accused South Africa of presenting a “profoundly distorted” view of hostilities, “barely distinguishable” from that of Hamas, as it presented its defence at the international court of justice in The Hague against accusations of genocide.My colleague, the Guardian’s legal affairs correspondent Haroon...

Bombing comes after Houthis threaten retaliation and anti-ship ballistic missile is fired at vessel in Red SeaThe US has carried out fresh strikes on Yemen, a day after a first raid triggered mass protests in the country’s capital and other Middle Eastern countries voiced concern that the attacks could trigger further unrest in the region.The strike, carried out by the USS Carney early on...

PM defends lawfulness of military action against Houthis as MPs call for parliamentary scrutinyMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe prime minister has said the UK acted in “self-defence” with military strikes in Yemen intended to “de-escalate tensions and restore stability to the region”, as he faced calls for greater parliamentary scrutiny.Speaking from Ukraine, Rishi Sunak said that in the face of this aggression “we...

With Palestinian plight supercharging movement, restraint may only come with regional pressure on resourcesWho are the Houthis?Middle East crisis – live updatesThe near-official slogan of the Houthi movement is: “God is the Greatest / Death to America / Death to Israel / A curse upon the Jews.” Crowds of supporters in the group’s northern Yemen strongholds have been chanting it for more than 20...

Critics on left and right furious that president failed to seek congressional approval for strikes against Houthi militantsA bipartisan chorus of lawmakers assailed Joe Biden for failing to seek congressional approval before authorizing military strikes against targets in Yemen controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi militants, reigniting a long-simmering debate over who has the power to declare war in America.The US president announced on Thursday night...