Israel army carries out rare West Bank air strike, killing 'three terrorists'

Israeli airstrikes on Friday resulted in the deaths of five individuals in Gaza and three in the West Bank, despite a shaky ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States. Meanwhile, thousands of sailors remain stranded in the Persian Gulf due to the ongoing Iran war, while Iran has announced an energy partnership with Russia and the United States has imposed limitations on an Egyptian bank linked to Iran.

In Gaza, local hospital officials confirmed that two brothers and a relative died in a strike targeting their family home near Khan Younis. Israel's military denied any knowledge of a strike in the area. Two separate Israeli airstrikes targeted two distinct locations in Gaza City, with one fatality each, according to hospital officials at Shifa hospital. Israel's military confirmed the strikes but did not provide further details.

Since the ceasefire deal in October, the fighting in Gaza has largely diminished, yet Israel has carried out numerous airstrikes, causing the deaths of at least 1,303 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health officials. Israel's military identified one of the targets, Qais Bitawi, as a Hamas operative and the other two as accomplices. The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed Bitawi's death along with the other two individuals.

In the West Bank, Hamas condemned the Israeli airstrike as a "heinous crime." Violence has increased in the region, with at least 87 Palestinians killed in attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers so far this year, according to Palestinian officials. Meanwhile, three Israelis have been killed by Palestinians in 2026.

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei declared on Friday that actions threatening national unity in political, security, cultural, social, or economic spheres are prohibited. He urged all major government decisions to consider their impact on "social cohesion." Khamenei warned that measures supported by some may lead to harm if their broader societal consequences are disregarded.

He cautioned against creating despair, weakening national motivation, or promoting divisive rhetoric such as "war or negotiations," "consensus or radicalism," and "compromise or warmongering."

The U.N. maritime agency reported that 19 seafarers have perished and over 6,000 remain stranded on hundreds of ships unable to depart the region since the beginning of the Iran war on February 28. Approximately 20% of the world's traded oil and natural gas traversed the Persian Gulf before the conflict erupted. Iran's ambassador to Russia disclosed that the two nations aim to enhance their energy grid connections by reviving a plan from 2022.

The proposal involves piping 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas annually from Azerbaijan into Iran. However, significant challenges lie ahead, as constructing the necessary infrastructure is costly and time-consuming.

The Trump administration is implementing measures to restrict an Egyptian bank's operations in the United Arab Emirates. Banque Misr, Egypt's second-largest bank, is accused of providing financial support to Iran's leadership. Under a new rule proposed by the U.S. Treasury, the bank's Emirati branches would lose access to the U.S. financial system.

The Central Bank of Egypt stated that they are in communication with U.S. authorities, and the restrictions primarily affect dollar transfers within Banque Misr's UAE branches. No other Egyptian banks are impacted by these restrictions.

Iran's Foreign Ministry denounced a series of new U.S. economic sanctions against Iran, labeling them "economic terrorism" and asserting that Tehran would employ all available means to counter them. The ministry claimed that the sanctions contravene international law and called upon other countries to refrain from implementing them.

It accused the United States of utilizing the U.S. dollar to coerce other nations into complying with its policies. Earlier this week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed to sever Iran from the global economy and threatened countries that continue to engage with Iran with secondary sanctions. Finland announced it would not renew its agreement to provide humanitarian aid to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, due to Israel's accusations that the U.N. agency is a "hotbed of terrorism."

Finland will now supply aid through alternative channels, such as the U.N.'s World Food Programme. The United Kingdom cautioned against any attempt by Israel to remove British officials from the Gaza ceasefire coordination center, emphasizing that any such action would undermine shared efforts to implement the 20-point Gaza peace plan.