Morning update

Morning update Good morning Middle East Eye readers, If you're just joining us, here are key developments from across the region: • Iranian media reports explosions were heard on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, city of Sirik and the area of Minab County. • Donald Trump has said the United States may hit Iran's Pickaxe Mountain, urging Tehran to be cautious. Trump said he expected Iran war to end immediately after the US midterm elections, adding that negotiations with Tehran remain possible. • Four Palestinians have been killed and several others wounded by Israeli gunfire north of Gaza, Al Jazeera reported. • Israeli artillery shelling has targeted Wadi al-Hujeir and Wadi al-Salouqi in southern Lebanon overnight and at dawn. • Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei accused US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of lying about claims the Yemeni Houthis were acting as proxies for Iran. • Hamas has announced the death of a top commander and member of its Military Council of the al-Qassam Brigades in the West Bank, Farah Hamed, in an Israeli strike on Gaza. • UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres urged restraint amid reports of further escalation in and around the Strait of Hormuz. • Top White House advisers, including vice president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio, have privately warned president Donald Trump that the conflict with Iran could extend through the remainder of his presidency, the Wall Street Journal reported. • Brent crude futures breached $100 a barrel on Wednesday to settle at their highest close since late May after Iran and the US struck tankers in the biggest wave of attacks on shipping since the war began. • Several American military aircraft suffered damage in Iranian strikes overnight on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, according to CBS reporter Jennifer Jacobs.