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War in the Middle East: latest developments

Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Israel reports Yemen missile fire -

Israel's military reported on Saturday a first missile launch from Yemen since the Middle East war began on February 28.

There were no reports of any casualties or damage in Israel. Yemen's Houthi movement warned on Friday it would join the war if US-Israeli attacks continue to hit its ally Iran or if more countries join the conflict.

- Thailand-Iran deal on Hormuz strait -

Firefighters at a bombed-out residential building in Tehran

More than 1,900 dead in Iran since start of U.S.-Israel strikes, IFRC says

March 27 (Reuters) - More than 1,900 people have been killed and at least 20,000 injured in Iran since the start of U.S. and Israeli attacks, said Maria Martinez of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) on Friday, citing figures provided by the Iranian Red Crescent.

Martinez said the Iranian Red Crescent continues to serve as the only nationwide humanitarian organization operating across the country amidst the escalating conflict.

(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; editing by Matthias Williams)

Emergency responders remove a casualty from beneath the rubble at a site of a residential building damaged by a strike, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 27, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Rubio sees G7 building 'coalition' against Iran strait control

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday he saw European readiness to help form a coalition against Iranian control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz after US-Israeli attacks unleashed a regional war.

Rubio joined top diplomats from the Group of Seven powers for talks as he assured them that the war launched a month ago would only continue for a matter of weeks.

The top US diplomat voiced alarm that Iran would seek to establish a permanent "tolling system" for vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which one fifth of global oil normally transits.

Rubio told reporters the US expected to finish Iran operations in the 'next couple of weeks'

Analysis-War between Hezbollah and Israel deepens fractures in Lebanon

By Tom Perry, Maya Gebeily, Laila Bassam and Emilie Madi

BEIRUT, March 27 (Reuters) - War between Israel and Hezbollah is pushing Lebanon's fragile state and society towards breaking point, straining sectarian and political faultlines as Shi'ite Muslims are displaced and enmity deepens between the Iran-backed group and its opponents.

Of all Lebanon's many crises since a 1975-90 civil war, the renewed conflict ignited by the Iran war could be its most destabilising, Lebanese analysts and figures from across the political spectrum say.

A woman holds a child in a school turned into a shelter for displaced families, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Dekwaneh, Lebanon. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

US uses hundreds of Tomahawk missiles on Iran, alarming some at Pentagon, WaPo reports

March 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. military has fired over 850 Tomahawk cruise missiles in four weeks of war with Iran, burning through the precision weapons at a rate that has alarmed some Pentagon officials and prompted internal discussions about how to make more available, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The U.S. Department of Defense and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

FILE PHOTO: Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance fires a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile in support of Operation Epic Fury, at an undisclosed location, February 28, 2026. U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

Attacks across Middle East as Iran war enters second month

Gulf countries and Israel came under missile fire and Israeli forces struck Iran on Saturday, as the war raged into its second month with Washington expressing hopes for progress in talks with Tehran.

In a sign that the conflict may be expanding further, Israel's military said air defences responded to a missile launched from Yemen -- the first since the start of the war on February 28, and after threats from Iran's Houthi allies to launch attacks.

The war, now in its second month, began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran

UNICEF says over 370,000 children displaced in Lebanon, 121 killed

March 27 (Reuters) - More than 370,000 children have been forced from their homes in Lebanon amid Israel's offensive against Hezbollah, with at least 121 children killed and 399 injured, UNICEF's representative in Lebanon, MarcoluigiCorsi, said on Friday.

(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle, editing by Thomas Seythal)

Children play at the yard of a school used as a temporary shelter for displaced people, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Hamas disarmament plan sees Gaza's tunnels destroyed, arms given up in stages, text shows

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO, March 27 (Reuters) - Hamas would be required to allow the destruction of its vast Gaza tunnel network as it lays down its arms in stages under a disarmament plan that was presented to the militants by U.S. President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", and viewed by Reuters.

The plan follows an eight-month timeline that begins with a U.S.-backed committee of Palestinian technocrats taking security control of Gaza and concludes with Israeli forces withdrawing completely upon "verification that Gaza is free of weaponry".

An Israeli soldier sits inside a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis at the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing ground operation of the Israeli army against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

With Tunisian opposition figures in jail, some family members lead calls for change

TUNIS, March 27 (Reuters) - The families of dozens of jailed opposition figures in Tunisia are among the few remaining voices demanding democratic freedoms, as they seek the release of loved ones held in what rights groups have called a crackdown on dissent by President Kais Saied.

The leaders of the main opposition parties in Tunisia have been jailed within the last three years, along with dozens of politicians, journalists, businessmen and others on charges of conspiring against state security, money laundering, and corruption - charges they say are fabricated.

Sofia Ben Agla, wife of detained opposition leader Ghazi Chaouachi, poses for the camera while holding an old photo of herself, her husband, and their two sons inside her home in Tunis, Tunisia, on February 26, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

Ukraine, Saudi Arabia sign deal on defence cooperation, Zelenskiy says

KYIV, March 27 (Reuters) - Ukraine and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement on defence cooperation that lays the foundation for future contracts, technological cooperation and investments, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday.

Zelenskiy, who is visiting Saudi Arabia, said the agreement was signed ahead of a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

"We are ready to share our expertise and systems with Saudi Arabia and to work together to strengthen the protection of lives," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets Deputy Governor of Makkah Region Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz during his visit to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, March 26, 2026. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS