Saudi Arabia announces maritime coalition over Bab al-Mandeb

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Senior Hamas officials confirmed Friday that they have reached a deal to end the conflict with Israel, after US President Donald Trump announced that the group was prepared to disarm.

Two officials from the Palestinian Islamist movement, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that they had come to an agreement.

Cairo is set to host a meeting "soon" of the Gaza truce mediators, which also include the United States, Qatar and Turkey, state-linked Al-Qahera News reported early Friday.

The news outlet, which is linked to the state intelligence services that manage Gaza negotiations, did not specify when the meeting would take place, but said that it would discuss implementing the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan, a roadmap for which Hamas and Palestinian factions have agreed to.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday the Board of Peace had reached an agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza, which would be carried out in phases and eventually lead to Israeli forces withdrawing. 

Israel's military has blown up Hezbollah tunnels underneath the Beaufort Ridge that hosts the Beaufort Castle, according to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.

The statement detailed that 700 tons of explosives were used.

Cyberattacks on several local water systems in the US state of Minnesota carry telltale signs of a hacker group affiliated with Iran, US media reports say.

Around 30 water systems were attacked Sunday and Monday using methods that have pointed investigators to a Tehran-backed group, according to the reports, which cite a security firm and US investigators.

The operation disrupted the water supply in the small town of Braham, in the greater Minneapolis area, for about two hours before service was restored.

According to cybersecurity firm Tenable, the method used in the attack "is consistent with" the CyberAv3ngers cybercriminal group, which the US government accuses of operating under Tehran's control.

US authorities also suspect Iranian hackers, although they have not formally established responsibility at this stage.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) has announced that it has redirected 24 commercial vessels as part of its blockade of Iran.

"As of July 30, CENTCOM forces have redirected 24 commercial vessels, disabled 2, and boarded 2 to ensure full compliance," it said.

A U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon approaches a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker for refueling while patrolling the Middle East. The P-8 is a specialized reconnaissance aircraft that is among the many assets monitoring regional waters during America's blockade against Iran. As of July… pic.twitter.com/5LJGLApwWR

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 30, 2026

Both the White House and Trump's 'Board of Peace' are under the belief that Hamas could sign an agreement to disarm itself, according to US outlet Axios, citing four sources.

Negotiations over the disarmament are ongoing in El Alamein, with sources telling the outlet that they have entered their final stage, though Hamas is yet to approve or sign the agreement.

Sources said that Qatar, Turkey and Egypt are pressuring the group to sign the agreement.

Iran's army says it launched an attack on US assets in Bahrain's Sheikh Issa base, according to state media.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday that Egypt's security is of "utmost importance" to the Islamic Republic.

"Egypt is an important friend and partner in the region, and its security is of utmost importance to us," Araqchi posted on X.

His comments come after a drone attack targeted vessels at Egypt's Damietta port, raising fears of the Iran war widening to a new front. No party has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Egypt is an important friend and partner in the region, and its security is of utmost importance to us.

We must all be vigilant against Israeli plots and false-flag operations designed to undermine regional peace.

The threat is clear, mutual, and fearful of Muslim solidarity.

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) July 30, 2026

Iraqi government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi said on Thursday that Baghdad neither approved nor had prior knowledge of US-Saudi strikes on Iraqi territory, the state news agency reported.

Saudi Arabia and the US Central Command (CENTCOM) carried out strikes against Iran-backed groups in Iraq that they said were responsible for drone attacks on the kingdom's oil facilities.

Saudi Arabia on Thursday unveiled plans for a multinational maritime defence coalition aimed at protecting international shipping and energy supply routes in the Red Sea region after attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis disrupted one of the world's busiest trade corridors.

The Saudi defence ministry said representatives from 43 countries and the European Union attended an international meeting that discussed the proposed coalition, including Saudi Arabia serving as its founding and leading state and hosting its headquarters.

The ministry said the coalition would strengthen maritime security, safeguard freedom of navigation, secure international trade routes and energy supply lines, and protect shared maritime interests in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden.

It said 14 countries, including Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Djibouti, issued a joint statement supporting the proposed coalition.

Among the six Gulf Arab states, Oman and the United Arab Emirates were not listed among the countries backing the statement.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned on Thursday that the Middle East conflict was facing a serious escalation, after a drone struck a US-owned gas tanker in an Egyptian port.

According to his spokesman, during a call to Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Sisi "stressed the need for Egypt, Spain, Europe and the international community to work together to halt this escalation".

The United States on Thursday issued new sanctions on Thursday targeting global networks supporting Mahan Air, the Iranian carrier Washington says transports Iran's Revolutionary Guards personnel, as well as weapons and drones.

The US Treasury designated six entities and individuals in China, India, Russia and Iran, including several companies that act as sales agents for the US- and EU-sanctioned airline, the department said in a statement.

The move comes as a drone strike on gas vessels in Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta signalled a potential new front in the US-Iran war, raising the prospect of threats to navigation through the Suez Canal, one of the last remaining export routes for Saudi oil.

Treasury said it was also sanctioning a front company associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that has supported Iran's "kinetic targeting" during the war.

Thursday's action "further disrupts the network underpinning Iran’s destabilising activities across the region," Treasury said.

Turkey is interested in participating in a new security initiative for Lebanon when the 7,500-member UN peacekeeping mission in the south of the country expires at the end of the year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a joint press statement with his Lebanese counterpart on Thursday.

Last year, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to terminate the peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL, bowing to demands from the United States and its close ally, Israel. The UN is now considering options to help end the decades-old conflict between Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and Israel.

“After the withdrawal of the current international force, Turkey wants to take part in all initiatives that will be launched to support security in the region and ensure Lebanon’s sovereignty,” Erdogan said, speaking alongside Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

“The end of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, deployed in southern Lebanon, will constitute an important development,” Erdogan stated.

Palestinian authorities asked the US Supreme Court on Thursday to halt for now a $656 million judgment in a long-running lawsuit filed by Americans killed or wounded in attacks in Israel.

The emergency appeal comes after a lower court reinstated the damages in the wake of a Supreme Court decision that followed more than two decades of litigation.

The Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority said in court documents that paying the hefty judgment now would “destabilize critical government services Petitioners provide in the West Bank, injure innocent citizens, and jeopardize regional security.”

They asked the justices to pause payment as they appeal the reinstatement of the verdict.

The lawsuit was filed by victims of attacks in Jerusalem in the early 2000s that killed 33 people and wounded hundreds more. Families brought their lawsuit under the Anti-Terrorism Act, a law aimed at opening US courts to victims of international terror attacks.

A federal court in New York tossed the original verdict on appeal and continued to rule in favor of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority as Congress revised the law to allow suits to go forward. In 2025, the Supreme Court sided with the families and revived the lawsuits.

The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to reinstate the verdict in March. Attorneys for the plaintiffs said at the time that the families were pleased and relieved by the decision, saying it would allow “justice to be done.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun travelled to Ankara on Thursday for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, seeking Ankara's backing for a US-brokered framework agreement with Israel as Beirut pushes to revive stalled security negotiations and prevent renewed conflict along its southern border.

The visit comes as regional tensions continue to mount following the recent US-Iran escalation, with Lebanese officials increasingly concerned that any wider confrontation could spill into Lebanon.

At the same time, Israel continues military operations in southern Lebanon and remains entrenched in so-called "Yellow Line" territory, maintaining military occupation and fire dominance over more than 60 towns and villages, according to Lebanese officials.

According to information obtained by The New Arab, Aoun intends to use the visit to rally Turkish political support for the framework agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel in Washington on 26 June. Despite domestic opposition, particularly from Hezbollah and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Aoun continues to present the agreement as the best available path towards ending hostilities and restoring stability.

The Lebanese presidency is expected to press Turkey to support the agreement internationally, while also backing Lebanon's insistence that any implementation must begin with a complete halt to Israeli military operations and a full Israeli withdrawal from occupied areas to allow the Lebanese army to complete its deployment in the south.

The US military said on Thursday that no US aircraft were destroyed or damaged in recent attempted Iranian attacks, denying a claim it said was made by Iran's Revolutionary Guards that three US F-35 jets and three other aircraft were destroyed.

In a statement, US Central Command also said the commercial vessel M/T Nora had not broken through America's blockade of Iranian ports, denying a claim it said was made on Iranian state media.

Kuwait's chief of staff, General Khaled Al-Shuraian, met in Saudi Arabia with a "maritime defence coalition" for preserving freedom of navigation in Bab el-Mandeb strait, Kuwait's state news agency reported on Thursday.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi urged Bulgaria to reconsider its decision to allow the temporary deployment of US military aircraft at the Bezmer air base, Iranian state media reported on Thursday.

During a phone call with his Bulgarian counterpart, Velislava Petrova-Chamova, Araqchi said Sofia's approval of a US request to station military aircraft at the base to support military operations amounted to facilitating aggression against Iran, adding the move was unacceptable and contrary to the traditionally friendly relations between the two countries.

Iran has repeatedly warned countries allowing their territory to be used for US military operations against it that they could "face consequences".

Araqchi held a separate phone call with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, during which he stressed the importance of preventing foreign military bases in Cyprus from being used against Iran.

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas is progressing towards a deal involving the decommissioning of its weapons, sources familiar with the ongoing talks with mediators in Cairo told AFP on Thursday.

A Hamas source added, however, that they were still in the process of making amendments to the proposal.

"We continue to advance the implementation roadmap that offers a balanced and pragmatic path forward, with all weapons decommissioned and a phased transition of responsibilities taking place to hand over full authority to the technocratic government," a diplomatic source told AFP.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter, said there would be "no exceptions for certain weapons or certain people. One authority, one law, one weapon".