Several explosions were heard in Saudi Arabia’s capital on Thursday, including a blast at Riyadh airport that halted flights, according to a witness. The cause was not immediately clear, and there was no claim of responsibility. The blasts came as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been targeting the kingdom’s infrastructure.
Blast at Riyadh airport halts departures
A witness reported hearing several explosions in Riyadh on Thursday, including a large blast at the city’s international airport. Fire and ambulance crews were being deployed, and smoke was visible, the witness said. Departing flights were halted, and passengers were told to evacuate, leaving their checked-in luggage behind.
The terminal was crowded with passengers, but the number of flights affected was not immediately clear. Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 showed that no aircraft had taken off from or landed at Riyadh airport since shortly after noon local time.
The cause of the explosions remained unknown. Houthi rebels have been targeting Saudi airports and oil installations, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts. Saudi authorities did not respond to requests for comment. The witness spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
British consulate in East Jerusalem downgraded after Israeli pressure
Britain said it had reached an agreement with Israel to downgrade its consulate in East Jerusalem, allowing a small team of diplomats to remain at what will now be called the UK Mission. Israel’s government said last month that it would close the consulate in response to the UK’s ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the consulate had “ceased to function as a consulate”. He said 20 British diplomats would leave Israel, while seven would remain at the building to carry out limited activities. “Israel will no longer turn its cheek to diplomatic attacks against it,” he said.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary denied that the building would close and said the seven remaining diplomats would continue working with Palestinians, without giving further details. The UK said it would not take reciprocal action, such as expelling Israeli diplomats from London, under the current agreement.
Tanker struck off the coast of Qatar
Several projectiles struck a tanker off Qatar’s coast, causing multiple casualties, the British military said late on Wednesday. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said the attack happened in the Persian Gulf, north of Madinat ash Shamal, a city on Qatar’s northern tip.
The tanker was not identified, and no further details about the casualties were provided. There was no immediate claim of responsibility and no comment from Qatar.
Former military secretary accuses Netanyahu of altering October 7 records
Benjamin Netanyahu’s former military secretary has accused the Israeli prime minister of trying to alter official transcripts of phone calls made on the morning of the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023. Major General Avi Gil made the allegations in a wide-ranging interview with the right-wing Israel Hayom newspaper.
In excerpts published on Thursday, Gil accused Netanyahu of attempting to alter the records of their calls during the first hour of the attack, possibly to shift blame for the morning's failures to his advisers. Gil, who served as military secretary from 2021 to 2024, said he reported the alleged attempt by Netanyahu’s chief of staff to the attorney general.
He also confirmed that a senior Egyptian intelligence official had visited Israel shortly before the attack. Asked whether a warning had been given, Gil said he did not know what message had been passed on. “Whoever met with someone or received something is still concealing it today,” he added.
The full interview is expected to be published over the weekend, with an Israeli television interview also planned. The report comes as Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, seeks re-election on October 27. His Likud party told Israel Hayom that Gil’s comments were part of an attempt to remove him from power, the newspaper reported.
EU prepares ‘support mission’ for Lebanon’s military
The European Union is preparing a “support mission” to train and advise Lebanon’s army and security forces, its foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday. Speaking during a visit to Beirut, Kallas said Lebanese authorities had formally requested the mission and that she expected EU foreign ministers to establish it on Monday.
The mission would not replace UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, whose mandate expires at the end of the year. Lebanese officials have pushed for an extension to the mandate of the UN force, known as UNIFIL, but it appears unlikely to win approval from the UN Security Council.
Much of southern Lebanon remains occupied by Israeli forces following the latest Israel-Hezbollah war. An agreement to transfer control from Israel to the Lebanese army has largely stalled. The departure of UN peacekeepers has raised fears that Israel could extend its occupation and that Iran-backed Hezbollah militants could exploit the resulting security vacuum.
