Pentagon confirms US strikes against Iran bases in Syria
Joe Biden sent a message to Iran warning against strikes on US troops, as the Pentagon confirmed the US military struck two facilities in Syria. It comes as more devastating images from Gaza emerge.
US President Joe Biden sent a message to Iran warning against strikes on US troops, as the Pentagon confirmed the US military struck two facilities in Syria used by Iranian-backed militia groups.
The US military struck two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has confirmed.
“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 groups that began on October 17,” he said in a statement.
One US citizen contractor died from a cardiac incident during the attacks, and 21 US military personnel suffered “minor injuries, but all have since returned to duty,” Austin added.
The strikes in Syria follow a direct warning earlier Thursday from Mr Biden to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei against the strikes on US troops, the White House said.
“There was a direct message relayed. That’s as far as I’m going to go,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters, declining to say how it was delivered.
In his statement, Austin sought to distance the strikes against facilities used by the IRGC in Syria from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.
“These narrowly tailored strikes in self-defence were intended solely to protect and defend US personnel in Iraq and Syria,” he said.
“They are separate and distinct from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and do not constitute a shift in our approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict,” he added.
He added the US “does not seek conflict and has no intention nor desire to engage in further hostilities, but these Iranian-backed attacks against US forces are unacceptable and must stop.”
“Iran wants to hide its hand and deny its role in these attacks against our forces. We will not let them. If attacks by Iran’s proxies against US forces continue, we will not hesitate to take further necessary measures to protect our people,” he said.
The Pentagon said US and allied forces in Iraq and Syria have been attacked at least 16 times this month.
Mr Biden told a press conference on Wednesday he had warned Khamenei.
“My warning to the Ayatollah was that if they continue to move against those troops, we will respond, and he should be prepared. It has nothing to do with Israel,” he said alongside visiting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
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MORE DEVASTATION IN GAZA
Photos below show how the Gaza Strip has been destroyed.
PERTH MAN’S PLEA AFTER FAMILY KILLED
A Palestinian-born Perth man whose family were killed after a deadly air strike on Gaza has revealed how he learned of the devastating news.
Ayman Qwaider lost his sister five-year-old nephew Eman and nieces Faiz, 3, and Sara, seven months, when a blast hit their home in Gaza City on Saturday.
Mr Qwaider told The West Australian his 32-year-old sister was found clutching her children by recovery teams.
“It took them hours to recover body after body, and then they found her, hugging her kids,” he said.
“They collected her body parts (in the rubble), she was holding her children.”
Mr Qwaider received the news of their deaths just after speaking to thousands at a pro-Palestine rally in Perth.
“Ten minutes later he (brother) called me, that was the shocking news that they obliterated the house. They bombed the house,” Mr Qwaider said.
DEATH TOLL INVESTIGATION
US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby has been grilled about the death toll in Gaza, after President Joe Biden disputed claims that fatalities were now in excess of 7000.
“We all know that the Gazan Ministry of Health is just a front for Hamas. It’s run by Hamas, a terrorist organisation. We can’t take anything coming out of Hamas, including the so-called Ministry of Health, at face value,” he said.
Mr Kirby said the Health Ministry had claimed 500 Palestinians died during the explosion at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City last week, but “the numbers are not reliable”.
“It was at least a couple of hundred, and that’s terrible,” he said.
Asked if the White House agreed that “thousands of Palestinians have been killed” in the conflict, Mr Kirby said: “We would not dispute that”.
It comes as the names of more than 6700 Palestinians killed by Israeli air strikes on Gaza were released by Hamas.
The list of 6,747 names gave the sex, age and identity card number of each of the victims, while noting 281 bodies had not yet been identified.
It claimed the Palestinian death toll from continued air strikes by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) in retaliation to the October 7 terrorist attack which left 1400 Israelis dead now stands at 7,028.
Israeli military spokesman Richard Hecht said that “when the Hamas health ministry comes out with the numbers just take them with a pinch of salt“.
Meanwhile, Iran warned the US “would not be spared from this fire” if Israel continues its bombing of Gaza.
Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also said Hamas is ready to release hostages abducted from Israel, and that Tehran can play a role in an exchange deal.
“I say frankly to the American statesman, who are now managing the genocide in Palestine, that we do not welcome to expansion of the war in the region,” he said at an emergency meeting of the UN General Assembly.
“But I warn, if the genocide in Gaza continues, they will not be spared from this fire.”
NEW EVIDENCE IN GAZA HOSPITAL BLAST
Ten days after the explosion at the car park of Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City, new evidence has come to light of the cause of the blast.
Video showing a projectile striking through the darkened skies over Gaza and exploding in the air before seconds later, another explosion seen on the ground.
The footage has become widely cited piece of evidence as Israeli and American officials have made the case that a Palestinian rocket malfunctioned in the sky, fell to the ground and then caused the deadly explosion.
But a detailed visual analysis by The New York Times concludes that the video clip — taken from an Al Jazeera television camera livestreaming on the night of October 17, shows something else.
The projectile seen in the video is most likely not what caused the explosion at the hospital.
It actually detonated in the sky roughly two miles away, The Times found, and is an unrelated aspect of the fighting that unfolded over the Israeli-Gaza border that night.
The Times’s finding doesn’t answer what did cause the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital blast, or who is responsible,
However, the analysis does cast doubt on one of the most publicised pieces of evidence that Israeli officials have used to make their case and complicates the straightforward narrative they have put forth.
MISSILE STRIKES EGYPT
Six people were injured when a rocket hit an Egyptian town on the border with Israel.
“As part of the current escalation in Gaza, a rocket crashed in Taba, lightly injuring six people”, AlQahera News television reported.
Witnesses told the news outlet the rocket hit a hospital annex in the Red Sea town, which lies near a border crossing with Israel.
Images showed a damaged building and blown-up vehicles. Egypt has played a key mediator role in the conflict that broke out after Hamas attacked Israel on October.
Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt is the only entry point not controlled by Israel, and a key passage for food and aid. Earlier this week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inspected his troops in Suez, telling them to “always be ready”.
‘TARGET ON ITS HEAD’: IDF WARN
A senior Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson has warned that all parts of Hamas responsible for the October 7 attacks on Israeli civilians “has a target on its head”.
In an interview with Sky News, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said one such operative was the deputy head of Hamas’s intelligence directorate, Shadi Barud, who was killed in an Israeli air strike.
Barud previously served as a commander in the Khan Yunis region and helped plan several killings of Israeli civilians, including the murder of eight school students by a lone Palestinian gunman in West Jerusalem in 2008, Lt Col Conricus said.
Citizens of Gaza could expect “similar activity” to last night‘s overnight raid which destroyed multiple Hamas sites ”until the ground invasion unfolds,” he added.
Asked about the multiple threats Israel now faces from militants on the West Bank, as well as Iraq and Syria, Lt Col Conricus said “we are surrounded by many tentacles of one institution, and that’s Iran”.
“That institution‘s “sole purpose in life … is to kill Jews and kill Israelis,” he said.
EU LEADERS CALL FOR GAZA AID AS UN SAYS ‘NOWHERE SAFE’
European Union leaders have urged for “humanitarian corridors and pauses” to get aid into Gaza as the United Nations warned “nowhere” in the territory is safe from Israel’s attacks.
The joint statement from EU leaders came after hours of negotiations at a summit in Brussels.
The 27-nation bloc has long been split between pro-Palestinian members such as Ireland and Spain, and staunch backers of Israel including Germany and Austria.
“The European Council expresses its gravest concern for the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza,” the statement said.
“It calls for continued, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and aid to reach those in need through all necessary measures including humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian needs.”
Meanwhile, the UN humanitarian co-ordinator for the Palestinian territories Lynne Hastings said that despite the Israeli military issuing warnings to people in Gaza City to leave, “advance warnings make no difference”.
She said in a statement that when evacuation routes are bombed, “people are left with nothing but impossible choices. Nowhere is safe in Gaza.”
International alarm has increased amid growing shock about the scale of human suffering inside the besieged Palestinian territory where Israel has cut off most water, food, fuel and other basic supplies.
ISRAEL RAIDS NORTHERN GAZA
The Israel Defence Force tanks and troops conducted a raid inside Gaza under cover of darkness in “preparation for the next stages of combat”.
This marks the third Israeli raid since the war began came after more than two weeks of devastating air strikes that has left more than 7000 Palestinians dead, and more than one million displaced from their homes.
The Israeli army said it had sent tanks, troops and armoured bulldozers into the enclave in a “targeted raid” on Wednesday night and destroyed multiple sites before withdrawing.
Black smoke billowed into the sky after a blast in the grainy night-vision footage the Israeli military released hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared preparations for a ground war were under way.
Mr Netanyahu said Israeli forces would be “raining down hellfire” on Hamas terrorists ahead of the raid.
In response, Hamas claimed Israeli air strikes had killed a total of 50 hostages, a figure that could not be independently verified by independent observers.
HAMAS FIRES ON FLEEING GAZA CIVILIANS: ISRAEL
Hamas terrorists are blocking roads and firing on Palestinian civilians attempting to flee Gaza ahead of Israel’s counteroffensive, according to claims by Israel.
The Israeli Defense Forces released recordings of a Gaza resident claiming they’re being prevented from evacuating south to Khan Yunis due to Hamas roadblocks.
“All the roads are blocked,” the resident says. “They’re just sending people back home … they are shooting at people.”
LISTEN to an IDF officer in Unit 504 encourage a resident of Gaza to evacuate southward for their safety.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 26, 2023
Hamas continues to use the civilians of Gaza as human shields, not allowing them to evacuate. pic.twitter.com/KTu108FQPg
IDF ‘KILLED’ HAMAS INTEL DEPUTY
The Israel Defense Forces claims it has killed the deputy head of Hamas’s intelligence directorate, Shadi Barud.
Barud, who is accused of planning the 7 October Hamas massacre with current leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, was killed in a strike on the Gaza Strip, Israel said.
“We will continue to strike and eliminate Hamas leaders and operatives responsible for the barbaric attacks,” the IDF said in a statement.
🔴Shadi Barud, Deputy Head of Hamas’ Intelligence Directorate has been eliminated by an IDF aerial strike.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 26, 2023
He took part in the planning of the October 7 massacre and countless other deadly attacks carried out against Israelis.
We will continue to strike and eliminate Hamas…
‘50 HOSTAGES KILLED BY ISRAELI STRIKES’: HAMAS
Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida claimed that Israel had killed 50 hostages in air strikes.
It comes after senior terror leader Khaled Meeshal previously told Sky News that 22 hostages had been killed.
Israel earlier estimated 224 people were being held captive in the tunnels of Gaza, though none of the figures have been independently verified amid the chaos of the war.
IRAN THREATENS US WILL ‘NOT BE SPARED”
Iran’s foreign minister warned the US “will not be spared from this fire” if Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza doesn’t end.
Speaking at the UN, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Iran does not welcome [an] “expansion of the war in the region”.
“But if the genocide in Gaza continues, they will not be spared from this fire.”
HOSTAGE ESTIMATE INCREASES
Israel has increased its estimate of hostages held by Hamas from 222 to 224.
Four hostages have already been released, and Israel has vowed to rescue the remaining as part of its counteroffensive into the Gaza Strip.
In addition to Israelis, the remaining hostages include “at least” 10 American citizens and foreign nationals from Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, and Germany.
More than half the hostages have foreign passports from 25 different countries, according to the Israeli government.
ISRAEL HAS ‘RIGHT TO TAKE ACTION’
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said Israel has the right to prevent any future attacks by Hamas.
“Hamas has two types of hostages,” he said. “Hostages from Israel, but they are also taking the population of Gaza as a hostage.
“Israel has a right to take action and to prevent future attacks. But that is never an excuse for blocking a whole region, for blocking humanitarian aid. It cannot be an excuse to starve a population.”
‘BE A MISTAKE’: PRESSURE TO AVOID INVASION
As Mr Netanyahu advanced his plans for the Gaza invasion, Israel has come under growing pressure not to invade amid a spiralling death toll.
“A massive intervention that would put civilian lives at risk would be a mistake,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in Cairo after meeting Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who also warned a ground operation would cause “many, many civilian casualties”.
It would also “be unlikely to offer Israel long-term protection” and would be incompatible with respecting “international humanitarian law and the rules of war”, Mr Macron said.
LACK OF FUEL CAUSING HOSPITALS TO CLOSE
The United Nations said 12 of the territory’s 35 hospitals have closed due to damage or insufficient fuel.
“The hospitals are in a state of complete collapse,” Mohammed Abu Selmeya, head of Shifa hospital in Gaza City, the largest in the territory, said.
He said “more than 90 per cent of medicines” had run out. Israel has cut off Gaza’s usual water, food and other supplies, and fewer than 70 relief trucks have entered the impoverished territory since the war began.
PALESTINE’S DEATH TOLL WORSENS
Gaza’s Hamas government says that Israeli air and artillery bombing have killed at more than 7000 people, including over 2000 children.
Lieutenant Colonel Conricus said claims from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) that Gaza was running out of fuel were not correct.
In a social media update, he said the IDF believed there is about 850,000 and 1 million litres of fuel stockpiled in the strip.
“We know it. There is enough for many days for hospitals and water pumps to run,” he said.
He also revealed Hamas divers had tried to enter a coastal kibbutz but the attempt ended with “terrorists killed and no threat to ‘Israeli civilians”.
“The bottom line is this is still an active combat zone and Israeli citizens are not yet safe from attacks,” he said.
“The rocket threat is not over Hamas continues to fire indiscriminately at our citizens.”
Lt Colonel Conricus said rockets fired from the Gaza Strip had fallen short of their Israeli targets and “endanger Palestinians – we saw how that ended when the hospital was struck by rocket,” he said.
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Originally published as Pentagon confirms US strikes against Iran bases in Syria
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