BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of supporters of Serbia's populist leader, Aleksandar Vucic, packed the largest indoor arena in Belgrade on Saturday for the de facto launch of his campaign for prime minister that will culminate in a pivotal election set for Oct. 25.
The early election, which polls suggest could be tight between Vucic's party and a group of candidates fielded by a student-led protest movement, was called after Vucic resigned as president on Sept. 27, cutting short his second term by more than seven months.
Vucic, who is constitutionally prohibited from running for a third term as president, declared upon resigning that he would lead his populist Serbian Progressive Party in the parliamentary election. If his party wins a majority of seats, the parliament is expected to elect Vucic as prime minister.
Dozens of buses from across Serbia clogged streets around Belgrade Arena on Saturday as supporters arrived at the rally in the capital carrying Serbian flags and banners bearing Vucic’s picture.
The event, televised by dozens of channels across Serbia, capped a week of Vucic touring towns and villages in an apparent bid to shore up his popularity that's been shaken after almost two years of sustained anti-government protests.
The youth-backed movement that led the protests has demanded accountability for the Nov. 1, 2024 train station canopy collapse that killed 16 people in the northern city of Novi Sad.
The movement's struggle for justice over the tragedy and against corruption has grown into a nationwide political force whose electoral arm, the Student List, will attempt to oust Vucic’s government after 14 years in power.
Vucic himself has been either prime minister or president for the past 12 years.
The Student List includes university professors, teachers, experts and others from across the political spectrum. Yet Vucic has accused those behind the movement of seeking to “bring Serbia to a halt,” and claimed, without providing evidence, that it's backed by unspecified foreign agents.
On Saturday, Vucic told his supporters: “Absent an intervention of some (foreign intelligence) service, we will defeat them. And they know that.”
The election is taking place amid heightened political tensions in Serbia, with reports of incidents and physical altercations at campaign events. International observers have described previous elections in Serbia as marred by multiple irregularities and violence.
While formally a candidate for European Union membership, Serbia’s accession process has stalled under Vucic, who maintains close ties with Russia and China.
European institutions have warned of democratic backsliding in Serbia in successive reports tracking the progress of candidate countries. Rights and media freedom groups have separately warned of police violence, arbitrary detentions, unauthorized surveillance and threats against journalists.
Supporters of Serbia's populist leader Aleksandar Vucic cheer during rally for the de-facto launch of his campaign for prime minister that will culminate in a pivotal election set for Oct. 25 in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo)
Serbia's populist leader Aleksandar Vucic speaks during a rally for the de-facto launch of his campaign for prime minister that will culminate in a pivotal election set for Oct. 25 in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo)
The co-pilot suspected in this week's FlyDubai attack has been identified as an Omani national, and the United Arab Emirates says he attacked the captain with the cockpit's crash ax before trying to seize the controls.
Meanwhile, a hospital in Gaza says Israeli strikes have killed five people, including two from the Palestinian territory's Christian minority. And a fire broke out at an oil facility in the Saudi capital, with no details released on the cause.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Saturday. Full coverage is available here.
The co-pilot suspected of stabbing the captain of an Israel-bound FlyDubai flight before passengers and others stopped the attack is an Omani national named Hamam al-Hammami, said three people with knowledge of the situation, including a Gulf and a Western diplomat.
All spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the media. The Gulf diplomat said that investigations are underway to establish whether he acted alone.
The United Arab Emirates said that the co-pilot attacked the captain with the cockpit’s crash ax and tried to take control of the plane in a “terrorist attack.”
The co-pilot, who officials said nearly crashed the sharply plummeting flight with 182 people aboard, was barred from flying by Oman over concerns he had adopted extremist views, a separate person familiar with the matter said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.
— By Samy Magdy, Sam Mednick, Anna Johnson
Israeli strikes overnight in Gaza killed five people, according to Shifa Hospital, where the casualties were taken. Four women were among those killed. A mother and daughter among them were Christians, a minority in Gaza, the hospital said, and the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, expressed condolences.
A large fire burned at the site, where the strikes tore a gaping hole in the ground floor of a multistory building. The hospital said that people were still reported missing beneath the debris.
Israel's military didn't immediately comment, saying it was checking for information.
Israeli strikes have killed at least 1,439 Palestinians in Gaza since a ceasefire was reached with the Hamas militant group nearly a year ago, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. Its figures are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It doesn't give a breakdown of civilians and militants.
Israel says it is targeting Hamas and other militants who pose a threat, and in response to ceasefire violations, including occasional attacks.
Israel's army said Saturday that it killed the most senior Hamas figure in Gaza and the right hand man to Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.
Ali Ahmed Al-Amoudi was killed in an apartment used by Hamas, said the army. It said he was the deputy chairman for Hamas' political bureau and that he was involved in decision-making surrounding the group's attacks that sparked the war.
The army said Al-Amoudi took part in an attack in the West Bank in 1993 in which four Israelis were killed and in the killing of an officer the year later in Ramallah.
It said that today he is directly involved in rebuilding Hamas' capabilities to fight.
A fire broke out at an oil facility in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, sending dense black smoke into the air, a witness said on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.
It wasn’t clear what caused the fire at an Aramco oil refinery. Authorities tightened security in the area and police blocked roads leading to it, the witness said.
The Saudi state-run Aramco oil company and the government-run Center for International Communication, which oversees foreign media in Saudi Arabia, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Saudi oil facilities have recently been hit in missile and drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. A major escalation between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis has revived Yemen’s civil war.
— By Samy Magdy
Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said that airstrikes hit the capital, Sanaa, as renewed fighting raged between the Houthis on one side and Saudi Arabia and Yemen's internationally recognized government on the other. Residents reported hearing three loud explosions.
The Houthi media office accused Saudi Arabia of launching the strikes but didn’t offer evidence. There was no immediate Saudi comment.
Yemen’s military claimed responsibility. In a social media post, a spokesperson, Col. Majed al-Nazili, said that “legitimate vital military targets” were hit. He didn’t offer details.
Iran executed a man convicted of firing at police during widespread unrest in January, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
The report identified the man as Siavash Jamshidi Kheirabadi, a resident of Shahrekord in central Iran. It said that he confessed to possessing weapons and firing at police, and was convicted on charges including moharebeh, Farsi for “waging war against God.”
The report didn't say how the execution was carried out, though Iran typically carries out executions by hanging. Earlier this week, IRNA reported that Iran had executed two other men over violence during the January protests.
IRNA news agency also said on Saturday that Iran's intelligence forces arrested more than 30 people accused of belonging to several groups accused of preparing for street unrest.
IRNA said that the arrests were made in the southern city of Sirjan. The intelligence ministry accused the groups of making large numbers of Molotov cocktails to damage surveillance cameras. It said that members of those networks had also participated in the violence during the nationwide protests in January, including destroying public and private property and attacking a police station in an attempt to obtain weapons.
This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
Mourners pray over the bodies of Palestinians who were killed in an early morning Israeli airstrike, during their funeral in Gaza city, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A destroyed building is seen at the site of an early morning Israeli airstrike in Gaza city, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians inspect the site of an early morning Israeli airstrike in Gaza city, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
