Wednesday

July 8, 2026

Armed conflicts and attacks

Middle Eastern crisis

2026 Iran war

Iranian state media, including the Fars News Agency, releases footage of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei's compound after it was hit in an airstrike by Israel and the U.S. during the first day of the war. (The Jerusalem Post) (Al Jazeera)

The U.S. military conducts new airstrikes against Iran, with at least 14 people killed in the last two days. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)

2025–2026 Iran–United States negotiations

2026 Iran war ceasefire

U.S. president Donald Trump says that the ceasefire between Iran and the United States is over and that airstrikes will continue. However, he also states that negotiations can continue. Pakistan's foreign ministry reaffirms its call for all sides to honor the recently-signed memorandum of understanding following Trump's declaration. (AFP via The Times of Israel) (Asharq Al-Awsat) (Reuters)

2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis

International Maritime Organization head Arsenio Dominguez reports that 6,000 seafarers are still stranded in the Strait of Hormuz and calls for a "maximum restraint and de-escalation" amidst renewal of the crisis. (Middle East Eye) (Oman Observer)

Nakilat confirms that the Qatari LNG tanker Al Rekayyat was hit yesterday by projectiles near the Strait of Hormuz. No casualties are reported. Additionally, the tanker is reported to be stranded near the coast of Oman. (Gulf Times) (Khaleej Times) (The Peninsula Qatar)

Gaza war

The Israeli military states that Nukhba commander Mohammed Emad Alrahman Abu Taima of the Al-Qassam Brigades, who is alleged to have taken part in the infiltration of the kibbutz Nirim during the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas, has been killed in an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip. (Cleveland Jewish News) (Israel National News)

Sudanese civil war

Human rights groups report that drone strikes in Sudan on civilian vehicles heading to social gatherings have killed 20 people in recent days. (ABC News) (AP)

A drone strike by the Rapid Support Forces kills 10 people traveling to a wedding near Omdurman. (AA) (MENAFN)

2026 Blue Nile campaign

The Sudanese Army says that they have recaptured the Blue Nile town of Kurmuk. (Sudan Tribune)

War crimes during the Sudanese civil war, Darfur genocide

A probe by the United Nations fact-finding mission of Sudan finds that the Rapid Support Forces have committed mass killings, abductions ‌of women and girls, mass gang rapes, and forced starvation in the North Darfur city of El Fasher. (Al Jazeera)

2026 Damascus bombings

The toll from yesterday's bombings in Damascus, Syria, increases to one person killed and 36 people injured. (Al Jazeera)

Insurgency in Balochistan

Pakistan's military says that three militant attacks in Balochistan since July 6 have killed 42 army and police personnel, while security forces have killed 54 militants in the incidents. (Reuters)

Business and economy

Economic impact of the 2026 Iran war

Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate oil prices increase by at least 5% amidst the escalation in the Iran war, rising to US$78.01 and $73.86, respectively. (CNBC)

Stocks on the Pakistan Stock Exchange witness a sharp decline following renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, with the KSE-100 Index falling to 4,626 points. (Dunya News) (Arab News PK)