The accounts also diverge on how the descent ended. One says Machchhar opened the cockpit door, which allowed passengers to enter and stop the plane from descending further. The other says Machchhar realized he had to get back on his feet to save passengers after falling, and does not mention passengers entering the cockpit. On Friday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a 10-minute video in which Machchhar recounted the incident from a hospital bed in Abu Dhabi. "I was trying to save my own life, but I knew I was not going to let others die," Machchhar said.

One account reports that the flight was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and that Israeli authorities arrested the attacker there. The other account does not mention the diversion or address the arrest. The first account says the attacker's motive remains unclear. The second says the attack was meant to hijack the aircraft and murder those on board, a claim the first does not corroborate. Passenger counts differ as well, with one putting the number aboard at 182 and the other at more than 170.

The second account also reports that Israeli officials suspect an "inside job" at Dubai International Airport. They question how the co-pilot bypassed security, noting that metal detectors there typically ban blades longer than six centimeters. Officials also ask how he evaded an agreement barring pilots from countries that do not recognize Israel. The first account does not mention these suspicions.

According to the second account, the attack has, for now, severed connections between Israel and Dubai. El Al Israel Airlines was forced to cancel its rescue flights after the UAE revoked landing permits, leaving thousands of Israelis stranded in the Emirates. On Friday, Israel's Transportation Ministry agreed to let repatriation flights resume.

In the Strait of Hormuz, the British military reported that an unknown projectile struck a tanker on Friday, causing a small fire and a blackout but no casualties. Including that strike, five recent attacks have hit shipping in the strait, and overall traffic remains below prewar levels.

In Yemen, fighting between Iran-backed Houthi forces and Saudi-backed government forces continued in Taiz City. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted three Houthi ballistic missiles over Khamis Mushait and that a fourth projectile reportedly damaged a school in Najran. The World Food Program said almost three out of four households in Yemen cannot meet their basic food needs.

In Gaza, Israeli military strikes on Friday killed three people and wounded at least one other. The Israeli military acknowledged that the strikes targeted militants. In the northern West Bank, Israeli troops blocked Palestinian farmers from harvesting olives, firing shots in the air and using tear gas, and cited a confrontation as the reason. New rules also prohibit Palestinians from harvesting olives in Area C, which covers most of the West Bank's agricultural land.

In Israel, Sami Abou Shehadeh, chairman of the left-wing Balad party, withdrew his candidacy for the upcoming election. He did so after the Supreme Court indicated it would uphold his disqualification over comments he made about Hamas' October 7 attack.