Three US troops killed, 34 injured in Mideast; 'We shall respond,' Biden says. Live updates
Three U.S. service members were killed and dozens wounded Sunday in a drone attack by "Iran-backed militants" at a U.S. base along the Jordanian-Syrian border as the war in Gaza continued to show signs of spreading across the region.
They are the first U.S. troops killed by enemy fire in the Middle East since Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, igniting the war that has led to more than 26,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza. Identities of the service members will be withheld until 24 hours after their families have been notified, U.S. Central Command said.
President Joe Biden issued a statement saying an investigation was underway but that "we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups" operating in Syria and Iraq. The three were "patriots in the highest sense" and the nation is grieving, he said.
"We will carry on their commitment to fight terrorism," Biden said. "Have no doubt − we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner (of) our choosing."
Biden, who was campaigning in Columbia, South Carolina, later told an audience at Brookland Baptist Church, "We lost three brave souls in an attack on one of our bases.” After leading a moment of silence, he said, “And we shall respond.”
The number of injured troops, which Central Command initially said was 25, later increased to at least 34, the Associated Press reported, citing an official who requested anonymity. Three officials told AP the drone struck near the troops’ sleeping quarters, a key factor in the high casualty count.
Eight of the wounded were evacuated from Jordan for a higher level of care, U.S. Central Command said in a statement Sunday night. They are in stable condition. The number of wounded is expected to fluctuate as troops seek treatment.
The attack occurred at a logistics support base in Jordan near the border with Syria. About 350 Army and Air Force personnel are based there to support the fight against ISIS militants.
Developments:
∎ The genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice is a form of “blood libel,” Israel President Isaac Herzog said Sunday. On Friday the court ordered Israel to take measures to limit death and destruction in Gaza. "The righteousness of our way is not and will not be shaken," Herzog said.
∎ During a “Return to Gaza Conference” in West Jerusalem on Sunday, Israel National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the country should “encourage voluntary emigration” of Palestinians as part of its response to the Oct. 7 attack, according to the Times of Israel. The Israeli offensive has displaced more than 80% of Gaza’s inhabitants.
∎ The U.S. is proposing establishing a contact group of Middle East allies that would be involved in the postwar reconstruction and management of Gaza, among them Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the Times of Israel reported.
∎ The death count is up to 20 from an Israeli airstrike on a multi-level house in the Al-Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to health officials.
∎ As much as 80% of Hamas’s tunnels under Gaza remains intact despite almost three months of Israeli military efforts to destroy them, U.S. and Israeli officials told the Wall Street Journal.
Increased attacks and sophistication jeopardize US personnel
Despite the layers of defenses in place to protect U.S. bases in the Middle East, officials had concerns about the possibility a lucky shot − the so-called "golden BB'' − may get through.
That's what happened overnight Sunday on the Jordan-Syria border, where three U.S. service members were killed and at least 25 injured in a drone attack American officials are blaming on Iran-backed militants.
The likelihood assaults may elude defenses has increased with their numbers and enhanced sophistication, leaving U.S. troops at greater risk. Since Oct. 17, 10 days after the Hamas-Israel war began, Iran-backed militias have launched more than 150 attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria, the Pentagon said.
Javed Ali, a former senior U.S. counterterrorism and intelligence official, said to expect a substantial response and quick escalation because this most recent attack “marks the crossing of a significant threshold in the already high level of violence against U.S. military personnel in the region.”
− Tom Vanden Brook and Josh Meyer
GOP senators blame troop deaths on Biden policies
Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott of South Carolina and Tom Cotton of Arkansas quickly blamed Biden for the tragedy and called for a military strike on Iran.
Graham, who met with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz in Tel Aviv on Sunday, lamented on social media that when "the Biden Administration says ‘don’t’, the Iranians ‘do’. The Biden Administration’s rhetoric is falling on deaf ears in Iran." Graham said Austin’s efforts to deter aggression against U.S. forces in the Middle East have "failed miserably" and said he had lost confidence in Biden's national security team's ability to deter Iran.
Scott said: “Enough is enough. The Biden administration’s appeasement of Iran must end. It’s time for clear and decisive action, and Iran must be held accountable for the malign activities of its proxies.”
In a statement, Cotton called for "devastating military retaliation" in Iran and against Iran-backed militants across the Middle East. "Anything less will confirm Joe Biden as a coward unworthy of being commander-in-chief," he said
It's not enforceable:It doesn't say if Israel is committing genocide. What's ICJ's Gaza ruling for?
Deal to free hostages could be near
Talks intensified Sunday on a potential agreement under which Israel would pause military operations against Hamas for two months in exchange for the release of more than 100 remaining hostages, according to multiple media reports.
The proposal includes the release of the remaining women, elderly and injured hostages in the first 30 days, and for Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, the Associated Press reported, citing three U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive negotiations. The New York Times reported that negotiators have developed a written draft agreement merging proposals offered by Israel and Hamas.
CIA Director Bill Burns was in France for meetings with David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Egyptian officials. Negotiators are "cautiously optimistic" that a final accord is within reach, the Times said.
Israeli officials told Channel 12 that a key stumbling block remains a Hamas demand that Israel end the war while leaving Hamas in control of Gaza. A Hamas official with knowledge of the talks told NBC News the group was flexible on details as long as the goal was a “final, comprehensive, lasting cease-fire.”
The Israeli government is under internal pressure to get the hostages released − and end the war. A survey released last week indicated a majority of Israelis support a U.S.-backed peace plan calling for the release of all hostages and the eventual establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue fighting until Hamas is crushed − and has pledged that Israel will oversee security in Gaza after the war.
White House denies claim it will slow weapons sales to Israel
The Biden administration is considering a slowdown in weapons sales to Israel as leverage to compel Netanyahu's government to scale back its military assault in the Gaza Strip, three current U.S. officials and one former U.S. official told NBC News. The weapons reportedly being considered as leverage include artillery rounds and joint direct attack munitions (JDAMs), which are guidance kits that convert so-called dumb bombs into precision-guided munitions, the officials said. But they also said there was little interest in slowing delivery of air defense and other systems that can defend Israeli civilians and infrastructure from attack.
The White House issued a statement saying there was no change in policy.
UN workers linked to Hamas-led attack on Israel that ignited war
Israel called for the resignation of the U.N. agency chief for Palestinian refugees after 12 agency staffers were accused of participating in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
The U.S., Canada, Finland, Australia, Italy, Estonia, France and the U.K. paused funding of the UNRWA program led by Philippe Lazzarini. Japan also suspended its funding to the program “for the time being" in response to the allegations, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Sunday.
More than 2 million of the territory’s 2.3 million people depend on the agency’s programs for “sheer survival,” including food and shelter, Lazzarini said in urging leaders to resume funding.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said nine of the staffers have been fired, one is dead and two others had not been identified. The UNRWA has 13,000 teachers, health care workers and aid staff in Gaza, almost all of them Palestinians, he said.
“The abhorrent alleged acts of these staff members must have consequences,” Guterres said in a statement. “But the tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA, many in some of the most dangerous situations for humanitarian workers, should not be penalized. The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met."
The Hamas-led attack on Gaza killed about 1,200 people in Israel, the Israeli government says. Officials in Gaza say the resulting war has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, wounded tens of thousand more and driven the vast majority of the population of over 2 million from their war-battered homes and communities.
Contributing: Swapna Venugopal and Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY; The Associated Press