Israeli Settlers Attack European Delegation in West Bank

Settler attack in occupied West Bank

Masked Israeli settlers attacked a delegation of European diplomats in the occupied West Bank, assaulting a French mayor and damaging cars, Al Jazeera reported. Officials from Belgium and Poland were also part of the delegation. Gulf News reported that Israeli police were investigating an alleged attack on French, Belgian and Polish diplomats.

The Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine underwent surgery after an alleged settler attack, according to the report. The available account offered no further details about her injuries or the circumstances of the attack.

Israeli strikes killed four people across Gaza, including a 14-year-old boy, Gulf News reported. The live coverage also described continuing hostilities and diplomatic activity across the region.

Regional attacks and civilian disruption

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted drones in the Eastern and Riyadh regions and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched toward Khamis Mushait on Sunday, Oct. 18. Major General Turki Al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, said the unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles were intercepted and destroyed. The Saudi Press Agency reported the announcements.

The coalition released footage that it said showed two ballistic missile launch platforms destroyed after they were detected firing toward Saudi Arabia. Riyadh residents received a mobile-phone alert warning of a “hostile aerial threat,” AFP journalists reported. The alert told people to remain calm and stay indoors or in a safe place away from windows and doors. Authorities lifted it a few minutes later.

The Saudi-led coalition said a reconnaissance AH-6i helicopter crashed in the Najran region after a technical malfunction, killing both crew members. Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki said the crash happened in an area under the Saudi National Guard Ministry’s jurisdiction. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree had said a day earlier that the group shot down a Saudi Apache helicopter near Najran during what he described as hostile operations along the border. It wasn't clear whether the accounts referred to the same aircraft.

Maritime attacks and fires were reported in regional waters. Al Jazeera reported fires on three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman. Iran’s navy said an oil tanker caught fire in the Sea of Oman after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reported that a second oil supertanker struck a naval mine and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. The accounts didn't establish one cause for all the reported incidents.

Diplomatic statements and competing claims

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was ready for dialogue with the United States on the basis of mutual respect and credible guarantees, but wouldn't surrender its sovereign rights under pressure. Speaking at an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Baghdad, he said Iran had submitted a seven-day plan through Qatar to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with the decision resting with Washington.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh called for fighting to end across the region, including in Lebanon. He accused the United States and Israel of violating a June memorandum of understanding by striking Iran and Lebanon, and said Washington must ensure Israel honours any ceasefire. Tehran reiterated its readiness to address questions about its nuclear programme and its offer to reopen the strait within seven days.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the Iran war would end “very quickly” and defended U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, saying they had crippled Tehran’s nuclear capabilities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left open the possibility of further military action against Iran. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the conflict couldn't be considered over until Tehran made a firm commitment not to rebuild its nuclear programme.

In a separate diplomatic effort, Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said a military delegation would join a meeting with Israel and the United States in Tampa, Florida, on Oct. 20. Egypt’s and Turkey’s foreign ministers called for renewed negotiations between the United States and Iran, describing diplomacy as the only way to end the crisis and prevent further escalation, Egypt’s State Information Service said Saturday.