Iran hits Gulf states, closes Hormuz strait after night of heavy US airstrikes

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Gaza's civil defence and hospitals said an Israeli drone strike and gunfire killed five people and injured several others on Sunday.

Civil defence officials said a drone targeted a metal workshop in a southern district of Gaza City, the territory's main urban centre, killing four people and injuring others.

Al-Shifa hospital said it had received the four bodies.

In a separate incident, Israeli machinegun fire killed a girl in Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to the civil defence agency.

Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority says passage through the Strait of Hormuz is not currently possible because of the "unlawful military activities of the United States".

"As soon as stability and calm are restored, all requests will be reviewed based on the schedule, and the necessary permits will be issued," it wrote in a post on X.

The US military has claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is "open to all vessels" despite Iran announcing its closure and firing on several ships near the disputed waterway.

In a post on X, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces are "positioned and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available".

It added that "Iran does not control the strait" and claimed that "traffic is flowing".

The Strait of Hormuz is open to all vessels seeking to lawfully transit the international waterway. U.S. forces are positioned and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available despite unwarranted Iranian aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary… pic.twitter.com/FS3TUBOZEj

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 12, 2026

Oman said Sunday it had rescued 23 crew members from a commercial ship while one was missing after the vessel was struck off the Gulf sultanate's eastern coast.

"Twenty-three crew members were rescued and provided with necessary medical care. Search operations are continuing for one crew member who remains missing," Oman's Maritime Security Centre said in a statement.

The agency said it had received a distress call from the Cypriot-flagged GFS Galaxy 4.4 nautical miles off the coast of Musandam Governorate.

The signal came after the vessel was struck during the latest exchanges of fire between Iran and the United States.

US Central Command said the ship had been disabled by fire and damage to its engine room, accusing Tehran of attacking it.

Earlier, India's foreign ministry said of 11 Indian nationals on board, 10 had been rescued, adding that one was missing.

• Iran launched attacks across the Gulf and announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz after a night of heavy US airstrikes.
   
• Arab governments have condemned the attacks, while Oman summoned the Iranian ambassador in protest at the strikes.
   
• Qatar's former emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, has died at the age of 74.
   
• Israeli forces have killed three people, including a girl, in Gaza.
   
• Seven Palestinians were injured in a settler attack in Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank.
   

Israeli forces killed at least three people in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including a 9-year-old girl, Palestinian health officials said.

Medics said Israeli gunfire directed at a tent encampment on the eastern side of the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed 9-year-old Tala Abu Matar. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the girl's death.

An airstrike at a metal foundry in Gaza City's Sabra neighbourhood killed two people. Witnesses said the site was hit with three Israeli missiles.

Israel's military told Reuters it had struck "terrorist" infrastructure, without giving further details.

The ceasefire agreed in October 2025 between Israel and Hamas has failed to stop Israeli attacks, which have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians since it took effect.

Oman's foreign ministry has summoned Iran's ambassador in Muscat in protest at this morning's drone attacks, which targeted sites in the Musandam and Al Batinah governorates.

"During the meeting, His Excellency expressed the Sultanate of Oman's dismay at these irresponsible acts, calling for strict adherence to the principles of state sovereignty," it wrote in a post on X.

Fires broke out in Sunday the vicinity of the Mazraat al-Hamra area in the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah in southern Lebanon due to intermittent, ongoing Israeli artillery shelling.

Israeli artillery shelling also targeted the nearby town of Kfar Tebnit.

▪️اشتعال النيران في محيط منطقة الحمرا في بلدة زوطر الشرقية نتيجة القصف المدفعي المستمر pic.twitter.com/H48RhvXU9l

— كُن مُواطِن (@kon_mowaten) July 12, 2026

Overnight US strikes on Iran killed one soldier, Iranian media reported Sunday after fighting resumed between the foes.

"Lieutenant Hamidreza Dehghani, of the navy of the Islamic republic's armed forces, was martyred during the criminal, terrorist attack last night by the United States on the port of Jask" in southern Iran, the Mehr and Tasnim news agencies said, citing a local official.

Seven Palestinians, including two children, were injured on Sunday after Israeli settlers raided the village of Huwara in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Israeli forces later detained three Palestinians, according to local sources.

Media activist Osama Makhamreh told the agency that a group of settlers attacked the family of Ibrahim Ismail al-Jabour near their home in the village.

All the injured were taken to hospital for treatment.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi will travel to Washington on Monday at the head of an official delegation after an official invitation, government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi said in a press conference on Sunday.

"The agreements to be signed will include several memorandums of understanding in the oil and gas sector as Iraq prepares to bring in various U.S. companies that will provide momentum to increase oil production capacity," al-Aboudi said.

Mohsen Rezaei, a veteran of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, on Sunday vowed to retain control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, calling it "more important than dozens of nuclear bombs", according to comments published by Iranian media.

Rezaei said Trump and Netanyahu have crossed Iran's red lines and that it must be met by a "decisive" response, according to ISNA.

Qatar has joined the chorus of condemnation from the Arab world at Iran's latest attacks, calling them "flagrant violations" of Gulf states' sovereignty.

"The continuation of these aggressions represents a dangerous escalation that will complicate efforts aimed at containing tensions," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Qatar "holds the Islamic Republic of Iran fully legally responsible for these aggressions and all their repercussions," it said.

A conservative newspaper in Iran known for its provocative tone has published a list of people to be targeted as revenge for the killing of supreme leader Ali Khamenei, including the leaders of the US, Israel and European countries.

US-Israeli strikes killed the late ayatollah on 28 February, the first day of the Middle East war, and his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei has vowed revenge.

The Hamshahri newspaper, which is published by authorities in the Iranian capital, released an infographic online late Saturday featuring photos of 13 foreign leaders alongside Mojtaba's statement.

The supreme leader in a message on Saturday said Iran had compiled a list of individuals to be targeted, but did not offer names, and there was no suggestion the newspaper's list was officially endorsed.

The infographic includes US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, among others.

It does not appear in the paper's Sunday print edition.

Also on the list are US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Israel's prime minister and other leading officials offered their condolences on Sunday for the death of US Senator Lindsey Graham, saying they had lost a dear friend.

"Lindsey understood that the security of Israel and America are inseparable," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

"Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend."

In separate posts on X, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and former prime minister Naftali Bennett called Graham a true friend of Israel and one of its strongest supporters.

The Saudi foreign ministry has issued a statement expressing its "strongest condemnation and denunciation of Iran's continued destabilising behaviour ... and its violation of the principles of international law".

#بيان | تعرب وزارة الخارجية عن إدانة واستنكار المملكة العربية السعودية بأشدّ العبارات استمرار إيران في سلوكها المزعزع لأمن المنطقة واستقرارها، وانتهاكها لمبادئ القانون الدولي وميثاق الأمم المتحدة وميثاق منظمة التعاون الإسلامي وقواعد حسن الجوار، وذلك بتكرار الاعتداءات الإيرانية… pic.twitter.com/PlXIfEyKjR

— وزارة الخارجية 🇸🇦 (@KSAMOFA) July 12, 2026

Oman has condemned drone attacks that targeted several sites in Musandam Governorate earlier this morning, according to the country's state-run news agency.

Three people, including a child, were injured in Qatar on Sunday after being hit by falling debris from an intercepted Iranian projectile, Qatar's interior ministry has said.

Statement from the Ministry of Interior regarding operational developments following the Iranian attacks. #MOIQatar pic.twitter.com/9CZoipLNtc

— Ministry of Interior - Qatar (@MOI_QatarEn) July 12, 2026

India said on Sunday that 11 of its nationals were on a vessel that was struck in waters east of Oman as Iran and the US exchanged strikes.

"Of the 11 Indian nationals on board, 10 have been rescued so far, while one Indian national is reportedly missing," New Delhi's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Qatar's former emir, who revolutionised Qatar to make it a regional powerhouse, has died at the age of 74, the nation's Amiri Diwan, its top government body, said on Sunday.

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani ruled Qatar from 1995 to 2013, before abdicating to his son Sheikh Tamim, the current leader of the gas-rich Gulf country.

"The Amiri Diwan announced the death of HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani on Sunday morning. May Allah have mercy on his soul and grant him the best reward for what he achieved for his homeland and nation," the Diwan said.

Ebrahim Rezaei, the hawkish spokesperson for the Iranian parliament's foreign policy and national security committee, has written on X that "we have taken control of the Strait of Hormuz with power, and we will preserve it with power as well".

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards announced they had hit a second vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, state media reported, after closing the key waterway and trading strikes with the United States.

"A second vessel accused of violating regulations in the Strait of Hormuz has been struck," the Guards said in a statement carried by state television IRIB, adding they had also attacked a US base in Qatar.

Pakistan's top diplomat called for "de-escalation" and for parties in the Iran conflict to "show restraint" during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart on Sunday, a foreign ministry statement said.

"Both leaders exchanged views on the evolving regional situation," Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement after the call between Ishaq Dar and Abbas Araghchi.

Dar "further underscored that dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viable path to resolving disputes and achieving lasting peace and stability in the region", it said.

Tehran announced it was closing the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and launched missiles and drones at its Gulf neighbours, in retaliation for new US strikes following an attack by Iranian forces on a merchant vessel that was abandoned in flames by its crew.

Sirens and explosions were heard in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, the latest escalation to undermine an interim agreement between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending the Middle East war.

The Pentagon said it had struck Iran early Sunday after the Revolutionary Guards fired on a Cyprus-registered container ship they said was sailing an "unauthorised route" through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Guards then said they had hit a second vessel, according to state media, accusing it of "violating regulations".

Iranian media reported explosions in Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Jask and on Qeshm Island as well as in Khuzestan province, which borders Iraq, with no immediate reports of casualties.

Hours later, air raid sirens sounded over Bahrain, while the United Arab Emirates and Qatar said they intercepted missile attacks, with Doha saying three people were injured.

Kuwait also said it was working to intercept an attack, while Jordan said three Iranian missiles fell on its territory.

Iran's Guards said they destroyed "the logistical support centres for naval vessels and the refuelling facilities for US aircraft carriers at the port of Duqm in Oman".