Saudi drone debris death marks tense day of war and diplomacy across Middle East

A fresh set of developments across the Middle East on Thursday included Saudi Arabia saying debris from an intercepted Houthi drone killed one person, while Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi rejected claims that the group had targeted Mecca and called for protests.

At the same time, UN-backed human rights experts said there were "reasonable grounds" to believe the United States committed war crimes in two strikes in Iran at the start of the war in February. Other developments included a Palestinian Authority protest over US visa denials, Israel moving ahead with a contentious West Bank settlement plan, policy changes in Syria after fuel price protests, court sentences linked to Syria's 2025 violence, and fresh diplomatic steps between Israel and Morocco.

Saudi civil defence said debris from an intercepted Houthi drone killed one person and injured two others in Taif province. The statement did not say when the incident took place, though Saudi Arabia said a day earlier that it had stopped a drone aimed at Mecca, Islam's holiest city. The Houthis, who are fighting Yemen's internationally recognised government backed by Saudi Arabia, have denied targeting Mecca. Iran's Foreign Ministry said a claim of intercepting a drone should not be used to escalate tensions.

In a televised speech, al-Houthi called for an end to what he described as Saudi Arabia's blockade of Yemen as fighting continued between the Houthis and Yemen's government forces. He described as an "utterly heinous lie" the accusation that the Houthis had tried to target Mecca, and called for mass protests on Friday in Sanaa and other Houthi-controlled areas to show support for protecting holy mosques and rejecting the blockade. The Houthi advance down the Red Sea coast to a key maritime chokepoint has forced an estimated 125,000 people in Yemen to flee. The offensive, linked to the wider Iran war, has threatened Saudi oil exports, pushed up global fuel prices and unsettled markets.

Human rights experts appointed by the UN's top human rights body said their findings centred on two US strikes in Iran on the first day of the war that killed at least 178 civilians, including women and children. According to an Associated Press investigation, at least one US missile hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab. The Trump administration has not directly accepted blame or released the findings of a Pentagon inquiry into the school bombing. The UN-backed team alleged war crimes over the strike on the "clearly identifiable" school and another airstrike in which missiles dispersed tungsten pellets over a "clearly identifiable sports complex and residential area" in the southern city of Lamerd.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the US denial of visas to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other officials ahead of the UN General Assembly, and said Israel's actions were "the real threat to the two-state solution and prospects for peace". The authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, also rejected US accusations that it had glorified extremism and moved away from the path to peace with Israel. Its foreign ministry said it remained committed to long-stalled negotiations, while defending its efforts to seek Palestinian recognition through international bodies and courts, a strategy opposed by the US.

Israel, meanwhile, said it would open bidding for another 2,167 housing units in the E1 settlement project two days before elections on October 27. The new tender would take the total number of units in the project to 3,401. The development, on an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, would effectively cut the West Bank in two, and critics say it would block the possibility of a Palestinian state in the territory. The Israeli rights group Ir Amim said the project would be "extremely difficult to reverse" under any future government. A spokesperson for the Palestinian president called the new units a violation of international law, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office did not immediately comment. The E1 project had been on hold for years because of US pressure.

In Syria, the government said it would provide subsidised diesel for heating and agriculture after sharp price increases triggered widespread protests this week. The energy minister said a tiered diesel pricing system would be introduced, with subsidised fuel sold at 115 Syrian pounds, or USD 0.94, per litre. On Sunday, the government had announced price increases of 30 per cent to 40 per cent for petrol and diesel, citing the US-Iran war and repairs at a major oil refinery. Protesters blocked a highway, leaving hundreds of oil trucks stranded.

A Syrian judge also sentenced three people, including an army soldier, after an investigation into violent clashes in the country's coastal region in which more than 1,000 people were killed in March 2025. Loyalists of ousted president Bashar al-Assad had attacked government troops and security forces in areas where members of the Alawite religious minority live, and the government's counter-insurgency later spiralled into sectarian violence. Syria's military criminal court sentenced the soldier to 20 years in prison, while two Assad loyalists were also punished, one with death and the other with life imprisonment. The violence last year alarmed minorities in Syria and others who were sceptical of the country's new Islamist-led leadership.

Israel and Morocco said they would open embassies and widen ties established under the US-brokered Abraham Accords, under which four Arab countries normalised relations with Israel in 2020. The two countries said integrating Israel into the broader Arab world "will lead to peace, stability and shared prosperity".

Overall, the day's developments highlighted continuing conflict and political strain across the region, from the war in Yemen and scrutiny of US strikes in Iran to disputes over Palestinian diplomacy, settlement expansion, unrest in Syria and new diplomatic steps between Israel and Morocco.