Israeli strikes kill 5 in Gaza and 3 in West Bank, and other news in the Middle East

Israeli airstrikes killed five people in Gaza and three in the West Bank on Friday, despite a fragile ceasefire brokered by the United States.

Meanwhile, thousands of sailors remain stranded in the Persian Gulf by the Iran war, while Iran is touting an energy deal with Russia and the U.S. has imposed restrictions on a major Egyptian bank for its ties with Iran.

Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 5

Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed five people, local hospital officials said Friday.

Two brothers and another relative died in a strike on the family’s home outside Khan Younis, officials at Nasser Hospital said. Israel's military said it was not aware of a strike in Khan Younis.

Two separate Israeli strikes killed one person each in Gaza City on Friday, according to health officials at Shifa hospital. Israel’s military confirmed it struck two separate areas in the city, without elaborating.

The five deaths are the latest in Gaza since an October ceasefire deal. While the heaviest fighting has subsided, Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes, killing at least 1,303 Palestinians, according to health officials in Gaza.

Attack kills 3 in Jenin

Israel's military said it killed three Palestinians in an airstrike in the West Bank city of Jenin on Friday, describing one of the dead as a Hamas operative and the two others as accomplices.

The military identified one of the targets as Qais Bitawi who was alleged to be “involved in advancing significant terrorist activity.” The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed Bitawi had been killed, along with two others. Hamas condemned the strike as a “heinous crime.”

Violence has escalated in the West Bank, where at least 87 Palestinians have been killed in attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers this year, according to Palestinian officials. Three Israelis have been killed by Palestinians in 2026.

Iranian leader bans actions undermining national unity

Iran’s leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, on Friday declared that actions undermining national unity in the political, security, cultural, social or economic spheres are prohibited.

In a message marking Iran’s Government Week, Khamenei said every major government decision should take into account its potential impact on “social cohesion.” He warned that even measures supported by some could ultimately be harmful if their broader social consequences are ignored.

“Any statement that creates despair or weakens national and public motivation,” as well as what he called false divisions such as “war or negotiations,” “consensus or radicalism” and “compromise or warmongering,” could damage the country, Khamenei said.

Thousands of sailors stranded by Iran war

The U.N.'s maritime agency said Friday that 19 seafarers have been killed and at least 6,000 remain stranded on hundreds of ships unable to leave the region since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28.

There have been at least 70 attacks on international shipping in the Persian Gulf, according to the International Maritime Organization.

About 20% of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed through the vital commercial waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf before the war.

Iran and Russia look to revive energy deal

Iran’s ambassador to Russia on Friday said the two countries are seeking to deepen links between their energy grids by reviving a plan that dates to 2022, according to Iranian state media.

Umud Shokri, a fellow at George Mason University, said the plan calls for piping 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas annually into Iran, via Azerbaijan.

He said that would help Iran weather U.S. economic pressure by alleviating seasonal shortages of gas, though there are significant hurdles, as building out the infrastructure would be expensive and time-consuming.

US imposes restrictions on Egyptian bank

The Trump administration is taking steps to limit an Egyptian bank’s operations in the United Arab Emirates.

Banque Misr, Egypt’s second-largest bank, is accused of serving as an economic lifeline to Iran's leadership. But under a new rule proposed by the U.S. Treasury, the bank's Emirati branches would be severed from access to the U.S. financial system.

The Central Bank of Egypt said it was in contact with U.S. authorities and that the restrictions are limited to Banque Misr's branches in the UAE and relate to dollar transfers only. No other Egyptian bank is affected.

Iran objects to US economic pressure

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned a new round of U.S. economic measures against the country, calling them “economic terrorism” and saying Tehran would use all available means to counter them.

The ministry said the sanctions violated international law and called on other countries to refrain from implementing them. It accused Washington of using the U.S. dollar to pressure other countries into complying with its policies.

Earlier this week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed to fully sever Iran from the global economy and threatened countries that continue to do business with Iran with secondary sanctions.

Finland to stop providing UN agency aid for Palestine

Finland said it will not extend an agreement to provide humanitarian aid with the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry, which has accused the U.N. agency of being a “hotbed of terrorism,” welcomed the news. UNRWA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Finland provided UNRWA with 5 million euros ($5.8 million) annually under a multiyear deal set to expire later this year. Ville Tavio, the country's foreign trade minister, said in a post on X that aid to Palestinian territories would instead be provided through other channels, such as the U.N.'s World Food Programme.

UK warns Israel against removing British officials

The United Kingdom warned against any attempt by Israel to remove British officials from the Gaza ceasefire coordination center on Friday.