Drone strike in Sudan kills 40, Lebanon welcomes US flight ban lift, and other Mideast developments

A drone strike in Sudan killed dozens of people, including children, said a rights group.

Meanwhile, attacks on the Riyadh international airport in Saudi Arabia earlier this week damaged three aircraft, officials said. Lebanon also welcomed the lifting of a decades-long flight ban with the United States.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Saturday. Read our full coverage here.

Drone strike kills at least 40 people in Sudan, rights group says

A drone strike killed at least 40 people, including children, in Sudan along the border with Ethiopia, according to Emergency Lawyers, a group that tracks the war.

It said the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group that has been battling Sudan’s military since 2023, was responsible for Friday’s strike in the Abu Shandi area in Sudan’s Blue Nile province.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it was appalled by the strike.

The conflict has killed at least 150,000 people, according to conflict monitor ACLED, though aid groups say the real number is likely higher.

Strikes hit Sanaa airport, say Houthis

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said Saturday four strikes hit the Sanaa International Airport in the Yemeni capital. The Houthis’ media center accused Saudi Arabia of the attack without providing further details.

The attacks came as the Houthis fought Yemen's government forces on the Red Sea coastline, with Saudi Arabia providing air cover for their allies in Yemen.

The Saudi government-run Center for International Communication, which oversees foreign media in the kingdom, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Houthi attacks on Saudi airport damaged 3 planes

Two regional officials said Saturday attacks by Houthi rebels on Riyadh airport on Thursday damaged three planes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to brief the media.

Three Saudi citizens were killed and several were wounded, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said Friday.

Air traffic was again disrupted Friday evening when the Houthis fired another missile at the airport, one of the officials said. Flight-tracking platform Flightradar24 said many flights were diverted.

Also on Friday, the spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, said forces had destroyed 136 military targets in areas controlled by the rebels in Yemen. He said the coalition is working to “destroy the ballistic missile network of the terrorist Houthi militia.” The AP could not independently verify these claims.

Fighting in Yemen between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces has escalated, with a Saudi-led coalition providing air support for Yemen's government forces in an attempt to reverse Houthi gains.

— By Samy Magdy

Lebanon’s president praises Trump’s decision to remove flight restrictions

The Lebanese presidency announced on Saturday the official lift of flight restrictions between Lebanon and the U.S. The Reagan administration suspended direct flights between the U.S. and Lebanon in 1985 following the hijacking of TWA Flight 847.

Trump made the surprise announcement in July during a visit by Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun. He ordered the lifting of the restrictions nearly two weeks ago, but the decision was publicly announced on Saturday.

Aoun welcomed the decision, saying it signaled U.S. confidence in Lebanon’s steps to improve civil aviation safety.

The move comes after the Iran-backed Hezbollah group was severely weakened by two wars with Israel over the past two years in which many of the group’s political and military commanders were killed.