One person has been killed after multiple explosions were heard around the al-Quds Day march in the Iranian capital, where thousands were taking part in annual rallies held in solidarity with Palestinians, as United States-Israeli attacks across the nation continued for a 14th day of war.

A large midday explosion on Friday rocked a Tehran square filled with demonstrators who were there for the annual event, Iranian state television reported.

The cause of the blast in Ferdowsi Square was not immediately known, but it came shortly after Israel had threatened people to clear the area because it planned a strike.

State media outlet Press TV said one woman was killed from shrapnel as a result of a US-Israeli airstrike, without providing any other specifics.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – With the US military announcing the loss of a refueling aircraft over Iraq, Tehran shortly after claimed responsibility through its proxies in Iraq, alleging that all US crew members were “killed,” a claim denied by the pro-Iran Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

Late Thursday, United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced “the loss of a US KC-135 refueling aircraft,” describing the incident as a “friendly airspace” and stressing that “rescue efforts are ongoing.,”

“Two aircraft were involved in the incident,” the statement said, while noting that “one of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely.” This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire,” CENTCOM noted.

Shortly after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters claimed that a US military refueling plane was “hit by a missile” by its proxy groups in western Iraq and crashed, noting that the attack resulted in “killing all its crew,” the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported.

China’s Foreign Ministry has announced that the ⁠Red ⁠Cross Society of China will send $200,000 in emergency ⁠humanitarian aid to the Iranian Red ⁠Crescent Society.

It said the funds will be specifically designated for parents of students who have been killed in the war.

Speaking at a news briefing, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Beijing “condemns all indiscriminate attacks on civilians”.

US lawmakers were told during a Pentagon briefing on Tuesday that the cost of the first week of the war against Iran exceeded $11.3 billion, according to a report by The New York Times, highlighting how quickly the conflict is using up weapons and resources.

The newspaper cited sources familiar with the closed briefing, saying Congress members were told that this figure does not include many other costs related to preparing the strikes, suggesting the total first-week cost could be much higher.

A British tourist is facing two years in prison in Dubai for allegedly filming missiles hitting the city, as the United Arab Emirates cracks down on those sharing what it calls "rumours".

The Londoner, aged 60, was arrested on Monday night and has been charged alongside 20 others over videos and online posts related to Iranian missile attacks on Dubai.

The man, whose name has not been reported, is accused of "broadcasting, publishing, republishing or circulating rumours or provocative propaganda that could disturb public security", a crime which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.

A base in Iraq used by British troops has come under attack from Iranian drones, wounding a number of American soldiers.

British air-defence troops destroyed two drones, but other devices evaded defences and struck an air base in Erbil, northern Iraq, on Wednesday night, defence chiefs revealed on Thursday.

It marks the third successful strike against British forces since war began nearly two weeks ago.

The Israeli military has said it had dropped charges against five soldiers accused of abusing a Palestinian detainee at the high-security Sde Teiman prison, a case that had sparked widespread outrage.

At the time, the army said the soldiers were accused of "acting against the detainee with severe violence, including stabbing the detainee's buttocks with a sharp object, which had penetrated near the detainee's rectum".

Explaining the decision to drop the charges, the military said "procedural difficulties regarding the transfer of information" by Israeli police had "undermined the defendants' right to a fair trial".

A High Court judge has ruled in favour of Guardian columnist Owen Jones in a libel case brought against him by a BBC editor.

Raffi Berg, the BBC’s Middle East editor, took legal action in November last year over a report by Jones which laid the blame for the BBC’s biased coverage of the Gaza genocide largely at Berg’s door.

The high court has now ruled that the article’s argument was acceptable because it expressed an opinion based on a quoted body of material.

In his article for Drop Site News, Jones accused Berg of sanitising coverage of Israel’s genocidal violence in Gaza.

Berg instructed Mark Lewis of Patron Law, previously a director of UK Lawyers for Israel, as his solicitor.