An Israeli first responder walks from the site of a missile strike in Tel Aviv, Israel, early Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)
Major developments we’re following:
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Israel on Saturday, raising concerns about the rebel group entering the fighting in the Middle East. Israel said it intercepted the missile, the first time it has faced fire from Yemen since the start of the war last month.
The Iranian assault wounded at least 15 U.S. service members, including five who were seriously wounded in the attack, according to the person who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. U.S. officials initially reported that at least 10 U.S. troops were injured, including two who were seriously wounded. Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, died days after being wounded during a March 1 attack on the base.
U.S. President Donald Trump again extended his self-imposed deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump says talks to end the war are “going very well,” but Iran continues to publicly insist it is not negotiating with the White House.
Iran’s stranglehold on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has caused growing concerns of a global energy crisis and appears part of a strategy to get the U.S. to back down by roiling the world economy. A Gulf Arab bloc said Thursday that Iran is now exacting tolls from ships to ensure their safe passage through the waterway.
The Houthis have so far refrained from attacking shipping routes in the Red Sea, a move — which if it happened — would further disrupt the shipping industry and the global economy.
One of two journalists killed in a strike on southern Lebanon on Saturday was targeted for being a suspected Hezbollah intelligence operative, the Israeli military said, without providing evidence.
Seven people have been hurt in an Iranian missile attack on a town in central Israel, Israel’s rescue service Magen David Adom said Saturday.
Some people were wounded as a result of the impact of the explosion in Eshtaol, near Jerusalem, while others were hurt running to shelters.
Iran is skeptical about recent diplomatic efforts to stop the war in the Middle East, its Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Turkish counterpart in a phone call Saturday.
The United Arab Emirates said its air defense systems responded to 20 ballistic missile and 37 drone attacks on Saturday. The attacks wounded six people in an industrial zone in the capital, Abu Dhabi, where three fires were reported, authorities said. The UAE’s Defense Ministry has reported 413 missile and 1,872 drone attacks since the start of the war. The attacks have killed 10 people, including two troops, and wounded 178 others, the ministry said.
A U.S. aircraft carrier has anchored in Croatia on its route to the Middle East amid the U.S. and Israeli monthlong war against Iran. The U.S. 6th Fleet said the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, anchored in the Port of Split in Croatia following its Adriatic Sea transit from Souda Bay, in Greece, where it conducted repairs and refueled. The carrier docked last month at the American naval base at Souda Bay, stirring up protests on Crete ahead of the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that triggered the war.
AP/YL
