Iran fires at Kuwait as Gaza and Lebanon tensions widen

Dubai,UPDATED: Sep 4, 2026 00:44 IST

Iran fired at Kuwait on Thursday as part of its retaliation for US bombardments earlier this week, while Israeli police said they had arrested a settler allegedly involved in an attack on Palestinians last week.

The latest developments across the wider Middle East also included Israeli attacks that killed three Palestinians in Gaza, Israel's claim that it had taken 'operational control' of a strategic area in southern Lebanon, a funeral in Iran for victims of a strike on a wedding, and an Israeli proposal aimed at encouraging emigration from Gaza.

In Gaza, Israeli attacks killed three Palestinians, including a 15-year-old, in northern Gaza and Gaza City on Thursday, according to officials at Shifa hospital, where the casualties were taken. The Israeli military said it had 'identified two terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line and approached the troops in a manner that posed an immediate threat'. However, officials at Shifa hospital said the two Palestinians were killed in a 'safe area' west of the so-called yellow line, which marks the part of the Gaza Strip controlled by the Israeli military. Another strike later in the day killed one Palestinian in Gaza City and critically wounded two others, the hospital said.

In Lebanon, Israel's military said on Thursday it had taken 'operational control' of the strategic Ali Taher ridge area in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have clashed sporadically in recent weeks. It is an area where Hezbollah is believed to have an extensive underground military facility. The military said troops had cleared Hezbollah fighters from two underground routes, killing some while others fled, and said operations were continuing. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah. The Ali Taher hill overlooks several villages and main roads leading to the city of Nabatiyeh, and losing control of it would disrupt Hezbollah's presence and supply lines in the area.

In Iran, hundreds of mourners attended the funeral of four victims killed in an airstrike at a wedding in the south of the country, state TV reported. Mourners carried caskets wrapped in the Iranian flag as families, relatives, soldiers and others accompanied the coffins through the streets of the port town of Kuhestak, about 1,100 kilometres southeast of Tehran. According to a rights group and Iranian media, a US missile hit a home in the town on Tuesday night where dozens had gathered to celebrate the wedding of a fisherman's daughter. Iranian state TV said on Thursday that a person injured in the attack had died, taking the death toll to five.

An Israeli official on Thursday also released a plan designed to encourage emigration from Gaza. The proposal sets targets of 250,000 people leaving in the first year, 1.1 million within three years and nearly 1.9 million within seven years. Israel's Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Israel would pay countries willing to receive emigrants. Palestinians in Gaza have rejected the proposal and dismissed Israeli claims that any large-scale departures would be voluntary. Rights groups have said that forcing or pressuring Palestinians to leave could amount to a potential war crime.

Thursday's developments reflected the widening tensions in the region, from Iran's retaliation against Kuwait and the arrest of a settler in Israel to deaths in Gaza, Israel's claims in southern Lebanon, mourning in Iran and a new Israeli proposal on Gaza emigration.

With PTI Inputs

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