Saudi Arabia goes on alert, ex-aide testifies in Netanyahu trial, and other Mideast developments

Israel’s former attorney general took the witness stand Sunday in corruption cases against Benjamin Netanyahu, as the political future of the country’s longest-serving prime minister hangs in the balance, with national elections just weeks away.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, was on high alert after a deadly attack on the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, allegedly by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.

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

Former legal adviser testifies in Netanyahu’s corruption case

Israel’s former attorney general took the witness stand Sunday in Netanyahu’s long-running corruption trial.

Avichai Mandelblit indicted the prime minister seven years ago for fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes. The charges were the first-ever against a sitting Israeli prime minister.

Netanyahu was seated in the courtroom to hear Mandelblit testify. The prime minister handpicked Mandelblit, his former Cabinet secretary, for the attorney general job. His tenure ended in 2022.

“The truth comes to light,” Netanyahu said before entering the courtroom.

Netanyahu has been accused of offering or exchanging favors with wealthy associates and media moguls for political gain. He denies any wrongdoing.

The latest proceedings come weeks before national elections.

Saudi Arabia on high alert after deadly attack as Houthis warn of new strikes

Saudi Arabia kept its main international airport closed and moved Riyadh schools online on Sunday after a deadly strike by Yemen’s Houthi rebels the day before.

The rebels threatened new airstrikes across the kingdom after a missile attack on the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 12 people and wounded more than 300 on Saturday. The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for that, but claimed two previous deadly attacks on the Riyadh airport earlier in the week.

Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the Houthis’ military spokesperson, urged “everyone to take our warnings seriously.”

The airport strike marked a major escalation in the war between the Iran-backed Houthis and the kingdom, and further complicated sputtering efforts to halt the U.S.-Iran war.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he was considering whether to join Saudi strikes against the rebels, a scenario that could prompt the Houthis to halt shipping through a crucial waterway and further restrict the flow of oil out of the Persian Gulf.

Gaza residents return to rubble as strikes continue amid ceasefire

Residents in central Gaza returned home Sunday morning to assess the damage caused by Israeli strikes after they had been warned to evacuate the buildings the day before.

Bassam Abed said that at least 10 residences housing some 300 families were reduced to rubble. He said families were not given enough time to flee before the military struck their buildings.

“Women slept outdoors. We did not take clothes,” Abed said.

The Israeli military said it had targeted militant infrastructure, including three weapons storage facilities, a rocket launch site and a command center used by Hamas militants to carry out attacks on Israeli soldiers.

The strikes fell one year after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal, but Israel continues to launch near-daily strikes.

Trump officially lifts ban on direct flight to Lebanon

The White House has officially lifted a decades-old ban on direct flight between the U.S. and Lebanon, following through on a commitment President Donald Trump made in July.

U.S. carriers may be reticent to begin offering flight to Lebanon soon, however, as the war with Iran continues to disrupts air traffic in the region and questions over Hezbollah’s influence in parts of the country persist. Direct flights between the two countries were suspended in 1985 by the Reagan administration after the hijacking of TWA Flight 847.

The Lebanese embassy in Washington said on social media that it welcomed the move as “a major step toward resuming direct flights.”

The U.S. embassy in Beirut said the change would make it easier for family members to visit one another and for American businesses to invest in Lebanon. “We look forward to working with our Lebanese partners to turn this opportunity into a reality,” the statement added.