Top Qatari officials had been meeting with the country’s prime minister on Monday afternoon to find ways of de-escalating a conflict between Iran and Israel, when defense ministry personnel called to warn of incoming Iranian missiles.

The attack, the first on the Gulf, caught them by surprise, according to Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari, who recalls feeling the prime minister’s residence shake with the interceptions that quickly followed overhead.

Unease had gripped the Gulf Arab states that morning. The glitzy, oil-rich capitals feared a worst-case scenario: an Iranian missile strike shattering their image of stability after 12 days of war between Israel and Iran, which had culminated in a series of US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Bahrain, where the US Naval Command is located, told residents not to use main roads and Kuwait, which hosts several US military bases, activated shelters in ministerial complexes. In nearby Dubai and Abu Dhabi, some residents were booking early flights out and others stocking up on supplies.

In Doha, nervous residents were on high alert. US and UK citizens in the country had been told to seek shelter and American military personnel had been evacuated from the US-run Al Udeid Base.

Qatar’s early warning military radar system, one of the most advanced in the region, and intelligence gathered indicated that Iranian missile batteries had moved toward Qatar earlier that day, the spokesperson said – but nothing was certain until shortly before the strikes.

“It could’ve been misdirected to lead us away from the actual target. There was still a lot of targets in the region…but towards the end it was very clear, their missile systems were hot and we had a very clear idea an hour before the attack, Al Udeid Base was going to be targeted,” a Qatari official with knowledge of defense operations said.

Responding to the attack

Around 7 p.m. local time, Qatari officials were informed by their military that Iran’s missiles were airborne and heading towards Al Udeid base, Al-Ansari said.

Qatar’s armed forces deployed 300 service members and activated multiple Qatari Patriot anti-air missile batteries across two sites to counter the 19 Iranian missiles roaring toward the country, according to Al-Ansari. US President Donald Trump has said that 14 missiles were fired from Iran.

Seven missiles were intercepted over the Persian Gulf before reaching Qatari soil, he said. Another 11 were intercepted over Doha without causing damage and one landed in an uninhibited area of the base causing minimal damage.

According to Trump, Iran had given the US early notice ahead of the attack. While Doha received intel from Washington, it did not receive any warning directly from the Iranians, according to Al-Ansari – though officials were well aware that the US bases in the region could be targeted.

“The Iranians told us months ago … if there was an attack by the US on Iranian soil that would make bases hosting American forces in the region legitimate targets,” Al-Ansari said.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that warning was reiterated to his Gulf counterparts in an Istanbul meeting a day before Iranian strikes on Qatar.

Iran’s National Security Council said after the intercepted attack that its strikes had posed “no dangerous aspect to our friendly and brotherly country of Qatar and its noble people.”

Still, Al-Ansari rejects speculation that Qatar – given its working relationship with Tehran – might have given a greenlight for the strikes in order to create an off-ramp for regional escalation.

“We do not take it lightly for our country to be attacked by missiles from any side and we would never do that as part of political posturing or a game in the region,” he said.

“We would not put our people in the line of danger. I would not put my daughter under missiles coming from the sky just to come out with a political outcome. This was a complete surprise to us,” Ansari said.

A ceasefire quickly follows

In the moments after the attack, Trump called Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani telling him the Israelis were willing to agree to a ceasefire and asked him to do the same for the Iranians, according to Al-Ansari.

“As we were discussing how to retaliate to this attack … this is when we get a call from the United States that a possible ceasefire, a possible avenue to regional security had opened,” Ansari said.

Doha’s role as mediator quickly became key in the aftermath of the strikes. Qatar’s chief negotiator Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi spoke to the Iranians while the Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was speaking to US Vice President JD Vance. Soon, “we were able to secure a deal,” Al-Ansaris says – and in the nick of time.

“All options were on the table that night … we could have immediately retaliated or pulled back and say we’re not talking to a country that sent 19 missiles our way. But we also realized that was a moment that could create momentum for peace in a region that hasn’t been there for two years now,” Ansari said.

Shortly after, Trump declared on social media that a ceasefire between Iran and Israel had been brokered.

After Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez tied the knot in Venice on Friday, a few hundred protesters gathered Saturday at a city train station for a march, united with one message for the Amazon billionaire and his bride: go away.

“Bezos, f**k off,” they chanted in Italian. “Out of our lagoon!”

One bearded man toted a Shrek-themed placard with the same message: “Get Out of Our Lagoon,” the “a” in lagoon sprouting Shrek ears, with a Spotify link below for the theme song from the first movie in the series, Smash Mouth’s “All Star.”

“Bezos goes hand-in-hand with (US President Donald) Trump, who’s fueling more money in war,” one woman bellowed into a microphone by the station. “We are for peace.”

Sofia D’Amato, a 22-year-old Venetian, emphasized that the protests weren’t about envy for Bezos’ wealth or power.

Venice’s Ministry of Tourism says the three-day wedding, which reportedly cost $55 million, could provide a boost of almost 68% of the city’s annual tourism turnover. On top of that, Sanchez and Bezos gave 1 million euros each to three Venetian cultural institutions, according to Reuters; a total of 3 million euros worth of donations.

Their philanthropy left D’Amato unimpressed.

“They say that Jeff Bezos donated money to Venice,” D’Amato said. “It was donated after our dissent. Such a sum for a magnate is paltry.”

Protesters drew a stark contrast between the decadence of Bezos and Sanchez’s wedding the day before and the harsh realities of working at the billionaire’s company.

“We can barely pay the rent,” one woman, who identified herself as an Amazon worker, told a crowd of demonstrators. “Many of us come from far away to reach the warehouse. We make do … we don’t see these millions.”

Some protesters joined in an old leftist chant as the demonstration moved toward the Ponte delle Guglie: “The people united will never be defeated.”

At least one protester took aim at the couple’s fashion sense with a sign declaring that “Money Can’t Buy Style.”

Many held aloft Amazon boxes with various messages inscribed: “Rejected,” “No Space for Bezos.”

Multiple flags were visible among the protesters: Palestinian flags, pride flags, anti-fascist flags and Venice’s fimbriated red standard were among the popular choices. A few individuals waved a modified version, the sword-bearing golden lion at its hoist wearing a black balaclava.

Venice city officials were unamused by the protesters, denouncing them in a press release as “ridiculous” and “grotesque.”

“Contesting a wedding (any wedding) is already ridiculous in itself. But here we have exceeded all limits of common sense,” read a municipal statement released Saturday. “We have descended into the folklore of ‘No to everything.’”

Oslo police on Friday announced charges against Marius Borg Høiby, the eldest son of Norway’s crown princess, on multiple counts including rape, sexual assault and bodily harm after a months-long investigation of a case that involved a “double-digit” number of alleged victims.

Høiby, the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepson of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon, has been under scrutiny since he was repeatedly arrested in 2024 amid allegations of rape and on preliminary charges of bodily harm and criminal damage.

Oslo Police Attorney Andreas Kruszewski said Høiby was cooperative during police questioning, which is now complete. Evidence in the case was drawn from sources including text-messages, witness testimonies and police searches, the police attorney said.

The charges included one case of rape involving intercourse and two cases of rape without intercourse, four cases of sexual assault and two cases of bodily harm, Kruszewksi said at a news conference.

“I cannot go into further detail about the number of victims in the case beyond confirming that it is a double-digit number,” he said.

Defense attorney Petar Sekulic, in an email to The Associated Press, said Høiby was “absolutely taking the accusations very seriously, but doesn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing in most of the cases — especially the cases regarding sexual abuse and violence.”

The royal palace did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request from the AP seeking comment. The palace was quoted by the Norwegian newswire NTB saying it would not comment while the case winds its way through the “normal procedures.”

The case was top news in Norway, where the royals are popular.

Høiby, 28, previously lived with the royal couple and their two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus, but now lives in a separate house nearby, according to Sekulic.

Høiby remains free pending a possible trial and is entitled to a presumption of innocence until a court rules otherwise.

Once known affectionately as “Little Marius,” Høiby grew up in the public eye enjoying the same wealth and privilege as his royal siblings, although his biological father, Morton Borg, served time in prison for drugs and violent offenses. Høiby has acknowledged cocaine use and addiction.

Norway’s future queen made headlines in 2001 when she married Haakon because she was a single mother who had lived a freewheeling life with a companion who had been convicted on drug charges.

Russia has amassed 110,000 troops in the vicinity of Pokrovsk as part of its efforts to take over the strategic eastern Ukrainian city, the Ukrainian military chief said Friday.

Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Friday that the area around Pokrovsk was the “hottest spot”along the 1,200-kilometre (745 miles) front line which runs across the east.

Russian forces have been trying to capture Pokrovsk for almost a year, staging one grinding offensive after another. But despite having a clear advantage in terms of the number of troops and weapons available, Moscow has failed to take over the city.

Pokrovsk is a strategic target for Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it clear that his goal is to seize all of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk his forces partially occupy.

Kyiv and its allies accuse Russia’s President Vladimir Putin of stalling on peace efforts so that his forces can seize more Ukrainian territory.

Although not a major city, Pokrovsk sits on a key supply road and railroad that connect it with other military hubs in the area. Together with Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, it forms the backbone of Ukrainian defenses in the part of Donetsk region that are still under Kyiv’s control.

Some 60,000 lived in Pokrovsk before the war, but the majority have left in the three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ukraine’s last operating coking coal mine was in Pokrovsk and many of its employees were staying in the area to keep it going. Once it was forced to shut down early this year, they too began to leave.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based conflict monitor, said late last year that Ukrainian defensive operations in Pokrovsk have forced Russia to abandon its original plan to take over Pokrovsk in a frontal assault.

The ISW said this was because Ukrainian troops began using drones as integral part of their defensive strategy, successfully integrating drone operators with their ground forces.

At the same time, Russia was unable to increase the number of troops in the area by much, because it was trying to contain the surprise incursion of Ukrainian troops into its own territory in the southern Kursk region.

Syrskyi told reporters last week that at one point, the Kursk operation pulled back nearly 63,000 Russian troops and some 7,000 North Korean troops.

“This allowed us to weaken the enemy’s pressure on the main fronts and regroup our troops. And the enemy’s capture of Pokrovsk, announced back in September 2024, has not yet taken place, thanks in part to our Kursk operation,” he said.

Instead of continuing to attacking the city directly, Russian troops then began encircling the city from south and northeast.

The ISW said in its most recent assessment on Friday that Russian forces were continuing assaults with small fireteams of one to two soldiers, sometimes on motorcycles, in all-terrain vehicles and buggies.

In a statement issued on Friday, Syrksky said Russia continued to try to break through to the administrative border of the Donetsk region.

“They want to do this not only to achieve some operational results, but primarily for demonstrative purposes. To achieve a psychological effect: to put the infamous ‘foot of the Russian soldier’ there, plant a flag and trumpet another pseudo-‘victory’,” he said.

The Israeli military has denied a new report that soldiers were ordered to fire at unarmed Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid in Gaza, after hundreds of people were reported killed while approaching food distribution sites in recent weeks.

On Friday, the daily Haaretz newspaper published an article alleging that Israeli soldiers in Gaza were instructed by their commanders to shoot at the crowds of Palestinians approaching aid sites, even as it was evident that the crowds posed no threat.

One soldier who spoke anonymously with Haaretz described the approach routes to the aid sites as a “killing field” where Israeli forces open fire even if there is no immediate threat. According to the article, Israeli forces recently began dispersing crowds with artillery shells, which resulted in a sharp rise in casualties.

“We strongly reject the accusation raised in the article — the IDF did not instruct the forces to deliberately shoot at civilians, including those approaching the distribution centers,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in response to the article. “To be clear, IDF directives prohibit deliberate attacks on civilians.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have also rejected the report as “vicious lies designed to discredit the IDF – the most moral army in the world.”

More than 500 Palestinians have been killed as they approached aid sites or trucks carrying aid since May 27, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Palestinians have come under fire on a near daily basis as they approach the sites, health officials and emergency responders have said.

On multiple occasions, the IDF has acknowledged firing what it called “warning shots” at Palestinians approaching military positions near aid distribution sites. It has also said that it is examining reports of casualties, but it has not publicly released any findings to date.

According to Haaretz, the Military Advocate General has instructed the IDF General Staff’s Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism – which reviews incidents involving the potential violations of the laws of war – to investigate suspected war crimes near the aid sites.

“Any allegation of a deviation from the law or IDF directives will be thoroughly examined, and further action will be taken as necessary,” the IDF said on Friday.

Shots fired at controversial aid sites

The Gaza aid sites where the deaths have occurred are run by the controversial Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which hands out pre-packaged boxes of food at a handful of locations in southern and central Gaza. The group’s distribution was chaotic from the start one month ago, with crowds of desperate Palestinians rushing the sites the moment they open to take the available aid before it runs out, often within less than an hour.

GHF was set up to replace the United Nations aid distribution mechanism, which Israel and the US have accused Hamas of looting. Hamas has rejected those claims, and humanitarian groups say most of the UN-distributed food aid reaches civilians.

GHF coordinates with the Israeli military to designate specific routes for Palestinians traveling to their aid sites and has come under sharp criticism from aid experts. It has acknowledged some episodes of violence occurring outside of its immediate aid sites, but repeatedly described food distribution operations as having “proceeded without incident.”

In response to the Haaretz reporting, the organization said it was “not aware” of the specific incidents described. Nevertheless, it added, “these allegations are too grave to ignore and we therefore call on Israel to investigate them and transparently publish the results in a timely manner.”

On Thursday, the US State Department announced that it is awarding $30 million to the organization, a sign of continued US support for GHF, which says it distributed 46 million meals in four weeks of operations.