Israeli Military Revises Call on Gazans to Flee to Egypt

Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas patrol near the border between Egypt and Gaza. (Reuters file photo)
Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas patrol near the border between Egypt and Gaza. (Reuters file photo)
TT

Israeli Military Revises Call on Gazans to Flee to Egypt

Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas patrol near the border between Egypt and Gaza. (Reuters file photo)
Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas patrol near the border between Egypt and Gaza. (Reuters file photo)

( The Israeli military revised on Tuesday a recommendation by one of its spokespeople that Palestinians fleeing its air strikes in the Gaza Strip head to Egypt, saying in a follow-up statement that the main crossing on that border was currently closed.

Briefing foreign reporters, Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Hecht said he would advise Palestinian refugees to "get out" through the Rafah crossing on Gaza's southern border with Egypt, Reuters reported.

His office then issued a statement. "Clarification: The Rafah crossing was open yesterday, but now it is closed," it said.

On Monday evening, Egyptian security sources and a witness said operations at Rafah had been disrupted by what they described as a strike on the Gaza side.



Drones Target Iraq’s Ain Al-Asad Airbase, No Casualties, Say Military Sources

An Iraqi military official said defense systems downed one drone near the base perimeter. (AFP)
An Iraqi military official said defense systems downed one drone near the base perimeter. (AFP)
TT

Drones Target Iraq’s Ain Al-Asad Airbase, No Casualties, Say Military Sources

An Iraqi military official said defense systems downed one drone near the base perimeter. (AFP)
An Iraqi military official said defense systems downed one drone near the base perimeter. (AFP)

Two armed drones on Tuesday targeted Iraq's Ain al-Asad airbase, which hosts US forces and other international forces in western Iraq, two Iraqi military sources told Reuters.

It was the second attack against US forces in Iraq since early February when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq stopped their attacks against US troops.

In April, two drones were shot down near Ain al-Asad base, according to a US official.

No casualties have been reported, said the sources.

An Iraqi military official said defense systems downed one drone near the base perimeter.

Iraqi army patrols stepped up patrolling the areas around the base to prevent possible further attacks, said an Iraqi army official.

The attack came less than a week before an expected visit by a high-level Iraqi military delegation to Washington to continue talks on ending the US-led military coalition in the country.

Washington and Baghdad in January initiated talks to reassess the draw-down of the US-led coalition in Iraq, formed in 2014 to help fight the ISIS group that overran large parts of the country.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a projectile appears to have targeted the base, but without causing casualties.