Pickaxe Mountain

Houthi forces captured the Red Sea port city of Mocha, tightening their grip on the Bab al-Mandab Strait as oil prices surged to $105 per barrel. Iran's IRGC claimed destruction of a US unmanned vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, while the IAEA reported construction activity at Iran's fortified Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site. Israeli strikes killed a family of four in Beit Lahia, Gaza, and the IDF prepared to demolish a major Hezbollah tunnel system beneath the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visiting Israeli troops on Mount Hermon in southern Syria, declared Iran 'very close' to collapse and vowed Israel would not allow a 'terror army' on its border. The IAEA Board of Governors voted to report Iran to the UN Security Council for the first time in 20 years over nuclear non-proliferation breaches. Brent crude surpassed $100 per barrel for the first time since July amid renewed US-Iran hostilities and Saudi airstrikes in Yemen.

The US launched a 10th consecutive night of strikes on Iran, while the IRGC claimed two tankers caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz and attacked US air defense systems in Bahrain. Israeli intelligence assessed that Iran moved thousands of centrifuges to an underground facility at Pickaxe Mountain. In southern Lebanon, Israel began a pilot withdrawal under a US-brokered safe-zone plan, and Hamas elected Khalil al-Hayya as its new political bureau chief, signaling continued alignment with Iran.

The US launched a third consecutive night of strikes on Iranian military targets, as the IRGC claimed a ballistic missile attack on a US air base in Jordan. Houthi rebels struck Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport in retaliation for a strike on Sanaa airport, and oil prices hit a one-month high amid escalating Hormuz tensions.