Morning update

21 September 2026 07:23 BST Good morning Middle East Eye readers, Here are the latest developments: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that its new advanced aerospace defence system "intercepted and destroyed" another American MQ-1 drone over the Strait of Hormuz. Explosions at a weapons depot in the early hours of Monday in al-Eis, southern Aleppo, wounded at least four. The cause of the blasts, which occured in the town of al-Eis, remains under investigation. It is the fifth reported explosion at a weapons or ammunition depot in Syria this month. Gaza’s Government Media Office has announced the launching an "urgent emergency plan", where 255 buildings damaged by Israeli attacks across the besieged enclave will be demolished. The announcement follows the collapse of a building damaged by Israeli bombardment last week in Gaza City. At least 21 displaced Palestinians, including five children, were killed as a result. Air strikes targeting telecommunications towers Yemen's Al-Jawf governorate killed four civilians and injured three others on Sunday, the Houthi-run Yemen News Agency (SABA) reported. According to a local source speaking to SABA, the casualties were workers. The Houthis have declared what they call an "equation of blockade for blockade and escalation for escalation", vowing that Riyadh will face consequences for restrictions imposed on Yemen. Mahdi al-Mashat, who heads the group's Supreme Political Council, said in a televised address that Yemen was pressing ahead to end the Saudi campaign and the blockade, reopen its airports and seaports, recover national resources, and secure compensation.