Israel at war: US bombs Iranian lairs in Syria, raising tensions

The US has launched military strikes against Iranian targets in Syria to protect its troops, in a ­dramatic escalation of tension in a region already engulfed by the ­bitter war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin says: ‘The precision self-defence strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17.’ Picture: AFP

The US has launched military strikes against Iranian targets in Syria to protect its troops, in a ­dramatic escalation of tension in a region already engulfed by the ­bitter war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

In a move that heightens the risk of a region-wide war, US forces conducted precision strikes against two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard and other affiliated groups.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said: “The precision self-defence strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17.”

Their purpose was “to make clear that the United States will not tolerate such attacks and will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests”, Mr Austin added.

It follows what the White House said was “a direct message” from Joe Biden to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning against strikes on US troops amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Pentagon officials said US forces had come under attack 17 times in Iraq, Syria and the Red Sea in the past 10 days by armed groups funded and controlled by Iran.

The Pentagon said it was now rushing 900 US troops to the region, as well as air defence systems to “support regional deterrence efforts and further bolster US force-protection capabilities”.

In the UN, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian sent a warning to the US, saying: “I warn if the genocide in Gaza continues, they (US forces) will not be spared from this fire.”

There are about 2500 American troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria as part of efforts to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group. The US strike comes as the Middle East is on a knife-edge amid heavy Israeli bombing of Gaza where there is a dire humanitarian crisis, and growing strikes against Israel by Iran-back Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Israel, which briefly entered Gaza with tanks this week on a ­terrorist-hunting mission, is preparing for what is expected to be a massive, high-risk land invasion at any time in its bid to destroy the terror group Hamas.

It also comes as the European Union joined calls by Australia and the US and for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict to allow urgently needed food, water and medicine into Gaza.

Israel has delayed its planned ground offensive into Gaza at the request of the US, amid concerns in Washington that Israel has not clarified how it will militarily achieve its aim of destroying Hamas in the dense urban combat zone of Gaza. The US also believes that a ­delayed ground offensive increases the chances of securing the release of more of the roughly 220 Israeli hostages held by Hamas and also allows for more emergency aid to be trucked into the besieged territory.

Hamas’s military branch, the Al Qassam Brigades, has claimed that Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has already killed about 50 hostages, but the claim could not be verified.

Israel continued its heavy bombing campaign in Gaza, which it said was directed against Hamas targets, saying it conducted more than 250 strikes in the past 24 hours.

It said Hamas had concealed its military posts inside buildings, schools, mosques and other civilian sites.

Israel said defence forces and a Shin Bet intelligence service unit operating inside the Gaza Strip killed the deputy commander of Hamas Intelligence Directorate, Shadi Baroud, who along with intelligence chief Yahya Sinwar, planned the October 7 attacks on Israeli civilians.

Baroud was killed in an air strike on his home called in by Shin Bet operatives on the ground two weeks after he narrowly escaped an air strike that killed his wife and five children at their home in Khan Yunis.

Israel has assassinated 10 other leading Hamas figures in air strikes on Gaza since October 7, including the operations commander on the day of the attack, Hamas’s head of aerial array Murad Abu Murad, as well as unit leader Ali Qadhi and Billal Al Kedra, who was responsible for the Kfar Aza massacre.

The Gazan health ministry said 7028 civilians had died in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, a figure the White House challenged, with spokesman John Kirby saying the health ministry was “a front for Hamas”.

Israel is now fighting skirmishes on three other fronts apart from Gaza, exchanging fire with Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, Iran-backed militia in Syria and Palestinians in the West Bank.

There are fears that Hezbollah may launch a major attack on Israel but Defence Minister Yoav Gallant reaffirmed Israel had “no interest in expanding the war” into Lebanon. Hezbollah said 47 of its fighters had been killed in the past two weeks.

There is also growing unrest on the West Bank where clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces or radical settlers have killed more than 100 people.

Only 12 aid trucks were permitted into Gaza in the past 24 hours which the White House said was not enough to provide anything like the relief required for a population that has not had supplies of food, water, medicine or fuel for more than two weeks.

Since aid trucks were allowed into the territory a week ago, only 74 trucks have entered Gaza compared with the 100 trucks a day that aid groups say is the minimum needed.

The lack of fuel has become a critical problem because it powers hospital generators as well as the desalination and pumping plant essential to the water system.

Israel has refused to allow fuel into Gaza fearing that it will be stolen by Hamas and used to fuel its rockets to attack Israel and Israeli troops. Israel says Hamas has large storages of fuel which it is keeping for military purposes rather than distributing to the population.