IDF says it struck Hezbollah sites after terror group’s explosive lightly wounded two troops
Three people, including girl, said killed by IDF in north, central Gaza; no comment from military * EU urges Washington to reconsider decision to bar Palestinian Authority officials from attending UN General Assembly
Palestinian media reports two killed, several hurt in Israeli strike in Gaza City
Palestinian media report two dead and several injured in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood a short while ago.
The IDF has not yet commented on the reports.
????عاجل: شهيدان متفحمان داخل الجيب وعدد من الاصابات في قصف جيب سبورتاج أبيض اللون في حي الشيخ رضوان شمالي مدينة غزةhttps://t.co/wH4HOb6hyj pic.twitter.com/fwHOUzeNZY
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) September 19, 2026
US Central Command chief: 1 billion barrels of crude oil allowed to exit through Hormuz in recent months
Chief of the US Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, says American forces have enabled over one billion barrels of crude oil to exit the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz in recent months, amid an ongoing blockade against Iran.
“CENTCOM forces have supported more than one billion barrels of crude oil leaving the Gulf. That’s one billion barrels of crude oil out through the Strait of Hormuz in the last couple of months. We’ve reached this significant milestone while assisting over 2,000 commercial ship transits through the strait by providing coordinated protection. Clearly, momentum is building,” Cooper says in a video statement.
He says that “primary transit lanes in the strait are clear of mines” planted by Iranian forces, and “thousands of ships have passed through the strait.”
“Over one billion barrels of crude have been shipped from Gulf partners through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has exported zero barrels thanks to our ironclad blockade,” Cooper continues.
He says the “volume of crude oil, cargo, and liquid natural gas these past two weeks is higher than at any point in the past six months.”
“We’re also working with every partner in the region, enhancing their air defense, forming a new coalition attack drone unit, and keeping the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters open and clear,” Cooper adds.
Update from CENTCOM Commander: pic.twitter.com/PTX6n9fn56
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) September 19, 2026
Australia withdrew from talks to impose West Bank sanctions shortly before UK declaration — report
Australia was involved in discussions but ultimately decided not to join a multinational effort to impose trade sanctions on West Bank settlements, surprising and disappointing European diplomats, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation says.
Last week, the United Kingdom announced it would impose sanctions on settlements. The leaders of the UK, France and Canada said they would follow suit, and a separate statement by the UK, France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden said they would commit to or consider such efforts.
Australia was involved in discussions led by the EU, but decided fairly late in the talks not to take part, multiple diplomatic sources from different countries told the ABC.
A spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade tells the ABC that Canberra is “concerned blanket import bans present practical challenges, including how to ensure they do not inadvertently harm Palestinian businesses, workers and livelihoods.
“The UK government has acknowledged these challenges as they work on their legislation over the next year,” the spokesperson says.
“In the meantime, Australia is pursuing further targeted measures, in coordination with international partners, to deter illegal settlements and settler violence,” the spokesperson adds.
Before sanctions announcement, UK officials believed Israel would not advance E1 plans before elections — report
British officials left an August 11 call with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar believing Israel would not advance plans to build in the E1 settlement block before the October 27 elections, The New York Times reports.
Sa’ar and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband held a tense phone call over the controversial construction plans, several weeks before the latter announced sanctions against West Bank settlements, three officials familiar with the call told the Times.
The Foreign Minister denies the characterizations of the call published in the Times.
A week after the call, the government issued a tender for the construction of seven residential compounds housing 1,234 housing units in the E1 area east of Jerusalem, where Israeli settlement activists seek to divide the West Bank.
While the Foreign Ministry itself said the move would not change anything on the ground in the area, British officials viewed it as an about-face from what Sa’ar had told Miliband, officials tell the Times.
Miliband’s office declines to comment on the report.
Miliband announced last week that Britain would ban all dealings with West Bank settlements, as well as sweeping sanctions and a range of other punitive measures, due to what he charged was “ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank – perpetrated by settler terrorists.” Canada, France and other nations announced similar measures.
The new “comprehensive sanctions regime” is expected to take effect within six to nine months, with what Miliband called “appropriate religious exemptions.”
Israel’s government reacted with fury to the UK move and announced a series of retaliatory measures, including the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem, which serves Palestinians. Other measures ordered by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar included the expulsion of UK representatives from an international Gaza support center and the termination of British activities to train Palestinian Authority security forces.
Syrian authorities say explosion at military site in east killed 11 people
Syrian authorities say an explosion of unknown origin killed 11 people at a military site in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor on Friday.
“The defense ministry held a funeral procession for 11 of its martyrs, who were killed in an explosion at one of the Syrian Arab Army sites” in Deir Ezzor province, the official SANA news agency says.
The ministry reported on Friday that an explosion at an army site in Deir Ezzor was under investigation.
Firefighters and rescuers headed to the scene of the explosion, state media reported at the time, without immediately providing any casualty figures.
Several such blasts have previously occurred at arms depots in Syria, which is emerging from more than a decade of civil war following the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.
Earlier this month, an explosion at an arms depot in the northwest killed 14 people.
Previously, also in the northwest, a car loaded with ammunition killed at least five people.
IDF says it struck Hezbollah sites after terror group’s explosive device lightly wounded two troops
Two IDF soldiers were lightly injured by a Hezbollah explosive device in southern Lebanon this morning, prompting strikes on the terror group’s sites, the military says.
The IDF says an engineering vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb planted by Hezbollah inside the military’s south Lebanon buffer zone during the incident.
Two soldiers were injured in the blast and taken to a hospital in good condition, the military says, adding that their families were notified.
In response to the explosion, the IDF says that it struck several Hezbollah infrastructure sites in southern Lebanon, including surveillance posts and sites used by the terror group to advance attacks.
Nine Israelis said to be among over 200 suspects in alleged ‘Israeli-linked’ fraud scheme in Turkey
Nine Israeli citizens are among over 200 suspects in what Turkish Justice Minister Akın Gurlek described as an “Israeli-linked international fraud network,” Turkey’s Sozcu newspaper reports.
The suspects include at least 45 foreign nationals from 20 different countries, the outlet says.
Gurlek said yesterday that law enforcement raided 42 call centers belonging to 28 companies that defrauded foreign nationals of cash and cryptocurrency through fictitious investment schemes. Interpol had received hundreds of complaints from customers, Gurlek said.
The companies defrauded customers of over $3 billion, Sozcu reports.
Flames and smoke seen near Riyadh airport, eyewitness says, amid soaring tensions in Yemen
Flames and a large plume of black smoke were seen rising near King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, an eyewitness says, hours after the first air raid alert in the Saudi capital since fighting with the Iran-backed Houthis resumed in neighboring Yemen in July.
The Saudi government media office does not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Three people, including girl, said killed by IDF in north, central Gaza; no comment from military
Three people, including a girl, were killed in Israeli strikes in north and central Gaza since this morning, according to Palestinian media. The IDF does not immediately comment.
A young man killed in the northern refugee camp of Jabalia is identified as Basir al-Bursh, son of Munir al-Bursh, director-general of the Strip’s Hamas-run health ministry. Munir al-Barsh can be seen in footage from Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital mourning over his son’s body.
Another man is reportedly killed in Gaza City’s eastern Shejaiya neighborhood, and his body taken to the city’s Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital.
Farther south, a girl is fatally wounded in an Israeli strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to a statement cited by Arabic media from al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah.
The man in Shejaiya and the girl in Nuseirat are not immediately identified in major news outlets.
US okays potential $2.68 billion sale of air defense gear to Ukraine amid continued Russian strikes
The United States has approved a potential $2.68 billion sale of air defense equipment to Ukraine, after Kyiv made repeated pleas for support to fend off Russian attacks.
The US State Department says in a congressional notification that it made “a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Ukraine” for buying air defense development upgrades and related equipment and services.
Kyiv has requested to buy equipment including multiple types of missiles, launchers, counter-drone radars and trailers, according to the State Department. The proposed sale is subject to congressional review.
“If the proposed purchase is concluded, Ukraine would finance it using a combination of European contributions and US Foreign Military Financing appropriated during the prior Administration,” the State Department says, adding that “The estimated total cost is $2.68 billion.”
Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has seen a surge in Russian attacks, which its air defenses have struggled to repel due to ammunition shortages.
Citing the Russian Defense Ministry, Russia’s Interfax news agency reports that the country’s forces struck a Ukrainian cargo and a tanker located in the Black Sea and in one of Ukraine’s ports. The report cannot not be independently verified.
Separately, Poland’s military says it has concluded preventive aviation operations that it started early today amid Russian strikes on Ukraine.
Ground-based air defense systems and radar reconnaissance were returned to standard operational activities after the army activated them for a state of readiness, the Polish military says, adding that there was no violation of Poland’s airspace.