Jordan Executes Three for Karak Church Killing; Israel Kills Hamas Leader in Gaza

Three men received death sentences in Jordan on Sunday for the October 23 shooting at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak that left nine people dead. The State Security Court ruled that the defendants, identified as two brothers and their brother-in-law, were guilty of carrying out terrorist acts. This verdict marks the first death sentences issued for the attack, which was among the deadliest incidents involving Jordan’s Christian minority in decades.

The attackers targeted mourners attending a funeral at St. George’s Church, located about 90 kilometers south of Amman. Dozens of other worshippers were wounded in the shooting. Jordanian security forces arrested the three men three days after the incident following a shootout in Karak. All three defendants were wounded during their capture. Authorities described the men as followers of an extremist ideology but noted they were not part of an organized group. No organization formally claimed responsibility for the massacre.

In related developments, Israel announced that its forces killed a top Hamas commander in an airstrike on southern Gaza. The Israeli military stated that Samir Mahmoud Hassan Abu Younis, commander of the Rafah Brigade, was killed in a strike just after midnight Saturday. A Hamas statement confirmed his death and announced that a funeral would be held later that day. The military said Abu Younis had been directing plans to advance and carry out terror attacks. Two months earlier, his predecessor was also killed in an Israeli strike.

Tensions in the region also escalated between Iran and Bahrain on Sunday. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed that it struck a radar system at an American helicopter base in Bahrain. The U.S. military’s Central Command did not immediately comment on the claim. This development followed a similar Iranian claim on Friday, which the U.S. denied after intercepting two drones. Bahrain’s military said its air defense systems intercepted several Iranian projectiles before they reached their targets. The Interior Ministry issued two nationwide alerts warning of a threat, the first such alerts issued since September.

In Yemen, Houthi health officials reported that an airstrike on the capital, Sanaa, wounded two women and two children. The strike hit a residential neighborhood in the northeastern part of the city early Sunday. The Houthi-run Health Ministry said the injured were taken to Muayyad Hospital for treatment. Spokesman Anees al-Asbahi blamed Saudi Arabia for the strike, though the kingdom did not offer immediate comment. The incident is part of a monthslong escalation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia that has reignited fighting in Yemen’s civil war after a four-year ceasefire.

A Saudi military spokesman stated that air defense systems intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis toward Riyadh. Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki added that two drones were also shot down over the oil-rich Eastern Region. These exchanges occurred as regional conflicts continued to shift dynamics across the Middle East.