US defends Israel’s war in Gaza and blames Hamas for all civilian casualties

CHICAGO: David Satterfield, the recently appointed US special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues, on Thursday blamed Hamas for all civilian casualties during the current conflict in Gaza.

He also acknowledged that humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in the territory is currently far below “the bare minimum” needed for survival.

Drone hits Israel school, army says, as Yemen’s Houthis claim missile launch

EILAT: A drone on Thursday hit a school in the southern Israeli resort of Eilat and Israeli air defenses later intercepted a missile over the Red Sea, the military said.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militias said they had launched “a barrage of ballistic missiles” at southern Israel, but did not mention drones in their statement.

No one was physically hurt in the explosion at the Eilat elementary school caused by the unidentified drone, but paramedics were treating seven people for shock, said an army spokeswoman at the scene.

Hamas official says no Gaza evacuations into Egypt

GAZA STRIP: No wounded Palestinians or dual nationals were evacuated Wednesday from the Gaza Strip to Egypt via the Rafah crossing, a Palestinian official said.

The crossing point remained closed due to Israel’s refusal to approve the list of wounded who were to be evacuated, a Hamas official told AFP.

The war started over a month ago when Hamas militants crossed into Israel and killed about 1,400 people, mainly civilians, and seized 239 hostages, according to Israeli officials,

Israel says it will maintain ‘overall security responsibility’ for Gaza. What might that look like?

JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t elaborate when he said this week that Israel would maintain indefinite “overall security responsibility” in Gaza once it removes Hamas from power in response to a deadly Oct. 7 cross-border raid by the Islamic militant group.

US strikes Iran-linked site in Syria: Pentagon chief

WASHINGTON: US warplanes carried out a strike on an Iran-linked site in eastern Syria on Wednesday in response to attacks against American personnel, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
It is the second time in roughly two weeks that the United States has targeted a location in Syria it said was linked to Iran, which supports an array of groups that Washington blames for a spike in attacks on its forces in the Middle East.