The United States retaliates against Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria
The United States responds to Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria nearly two hours after the remains of three American soldiers were returned home from Jordan.
Fox-5 DC
Iran-backed Houthi rebels vowed on Sunday that a wave of joint US-British air strikes “will not go unanswered and unpunished” as the war between Israel and Hamas teeters on the brink of a broader and deadlier regional conflict.
Houthi spokesman Amin Hayyan said: “These attacks will not deter us from our moral, religious and humanitarian stance in support of the steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.” He said in a statement.
US and British forces bombed 36 rebel targets in Yemen on Saturday, a day after targeting 85 sites linked to other Iranian-backed armed groups in Syria and Iraq. Friday's air strikes were in response to months of attacks on US bases, including a drone strike on a US base in Jordan near the Syrian border that killed three Americans.
The Houthis were targeted in response to dozens of strikes on commercial ships in the Red Sea region since November. This is the third time British and US forces have jointly targeted the Houthis, who say their attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians in war-torn Gaza, which has been under bombardment since a Hamas attack on Israeli border communities on October 7.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the latest US-British response “aims to weaken the Houthis' capabilities used to continue their reckless and unlawful attacks.”
America bombs Iranian-backed groups: Targeting new sites in Yemen
Developments:
∎ The Palestinian death toll has risen to 27,365, the majority of whom are women and children, the Gaza Ministry of Health announced on Sunday. The ministry said that more than 66,000 people were injured and about 8,000 are still missing.
∎ Iran has warned the United States against targeting two cargo ships suspected of being used as an operating base for Iranian special forces. Behshed and Saviz were registered as commercial vessels with a Tehran-based company that the U.S. Treasury has sanctioned for aiding Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
∎ The Palestinian Wafa News Agency reported that at least two children were killed in an Israeli attack on a kindergarten in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using schools and other public places as cover and civilians as human shields.
The attack by Iranian-backed militants on a US base in Jordan that killed three American soldiers a week ago would not have happened if Donald Trump were president, the Republican presidential nominee said on Sunday.
“I have Iran under control,” Trump said. Futures on Sunday morning. He told a story from his presidency when he said the United States “hit them hard” over something Iran did. Trump said Iran was forced to respond.
“They feel like they have to do it, and I understand that,” Trump said. “They called me to say we were going to hit a certain location, but we wouldn't hit it, it would be out of range.” So they pointed those missiles and said: “Please don't attack us, we won't attack you.” “That was respect, and we had respect.”
It appears that Trump was referring to the Iranian strike on an air base in Iraq that houses American forces. The January 2020 attack was in retaliation for the US assassination of an Iranian general. But the Pentagon said several Iranian missiles struck the base that day. Dozens of American soldiers suffered brain injuries.
The deadly drone attack a week ago near the Syrian border was the third attack in six months targeting the base known as Tower 22. The three American deaths were the first from enemy fire in the region since the war began nearly three months ago. Iran denied its involvement in the attack, saying that militants in the region do not receive orders from Tehran
The Israeli army said in a statement that an Israeli raid in southern Gaza revealed the headquarters of the Khan Yunis Brigade, which includes the office of Muhammad al-Sinwar, brother of the political leader of Hamas, Yahya al-Sinwar. The statement said that the Al-Qadisiyah outpost was used to train militants who carried out the stunning October 7 attack on Israeli border communities. The attackers killed more than 1,200 people and took about 240 hostage, more than 100 of whom remain captive in Gaza.
The settlement outpost included models simulating the entry gates to kibbutzim and other areas that were stormed. The statement added that the militants defending the site were “eliminated” by sniper fire, tank shells, and air force strikes.
A senior Hamas official said that Hamas leaders need more time to study the proposed ceasefire framework, but “there is no agreement yet.” Osama Hamdan said that Hamas is reviewing the framework reached by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, but Hamdan said that his armed organization has not backed down from the demands that include the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, lifting the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, and rebuilding the war. Afflicted cities and towns, the provision of humanitarian aid, a prisoner-for-hostage agreement, and a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected many of these demands. In a press conference in Lebanon, Hamdan gave credit to Egypt and Qatar for trying to broker an agreement, but he blamed Israel's “stubbornness” for the apparent failure to reach an agreement.
Hamdan said: “We value the efforts made by the brothers in Egypt and Qatar to reach a permanent ceasefire agreement in Gaza.”
The Biden administration is obstructing the Israeli war effort and the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump Israel's National Security Minister said this would give Tel Aviv the freedom to crush Hamas. Itamar Ben Gvir, who leads a far-right political party crucial to Netanyahu's ruling coalition, has repeatedly criticized Netanyahu in recent weeks for being too willing to make a deal with Hamas to release more than 100 hostages. Ben Gvir also has sharp worlds for President Joe Biden, despite his staunch support for Israel in the face of global outrage at the massive destruction and death stoked by Israel's invasion.
Ben Gvir said: “Instead of offering us his full support, Biden is busy providing humanitarian aid and fuel (to Gaza), which goes to Hamas.” Wall Street Journal. “If Trump were in power, the United States’ behavior would be completely different.”
Iran also condemned the US-British air strikes – which were carried out with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand – as a violation of Yemen's territorial integrity and international law. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani urged the international community to hold the countries concerned accountable.
Al-Kanaani said: The military adventures undertaken by the United States and Britain, which were characterized by their military strikes on the countries of the region, are a continuation of the wrong approach taken by these two countries and the policy of resorting to militarism to achieve their illegitimate goals in the region. The strikes were “in stark contrast to Washington and London repeatedly claiming that they do not want to see war and conflict spread to the region.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
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