US Not Expecting Surge in Attacks on Troops in Iraq, Syria, Defense Secretary Says 

Members of the Iraqi Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) mourn during a funeral of their colleague, who was killed in an airstrike in southern Baghdad, during a funeral procession in Baghdad, Iraq, 31 July 2024. (EPA)
Members of the Iraqi Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) mourn during a funeral of their colleague, who was killed in an airstrike in southern Baghdad, during a funeral procession in Baghdad, Iraq, 31 July 2024. (EPA)
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US Not Expecting Surge in Attacks on Troops in Iraq, Syria, Defense Secretary Says 

Members of the Iraqi Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) mourn during a funeral of their colleague, who was killed in an airstrike in southern Baghdad, during a funeral procession in Baghdad, Iraq, 31 July 2024. (EPA)
Members of the Iraqi Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) mourn during a funeral of their colleague, who was killed in an airstrike in southern Baghdad, during a funeral procession in Baghdad, Iraq, 31 July 2024. (EPA)

Despite a spike in tensions in the Middle East, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday he did not currently expect Iran-backed militias to step up attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria, as they have in the past.

The United States on Tuesday carried out a strike in Iraq that US officials described as self-defense, one of a series of high-profile attacks in the region over the past day that also included an Israeli airstrike in Beirut that killed senior Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was also assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday morning.

"I think, quite frankly, I don't see a return to where we were several months ago, not yet," Austin told reporters as he departed the Philippines.

Between Oct. 7 and February, US troops were attacked over 160 times in Iraq and Syria, usually with a mix of rockets and one-way attack drones, prompting the United States to mount several retaliatory attacks.

The deadliest attack was in late January, when an Iranian-made drone killed three US soldiers and wounded dozens more near the Jordan border.

Since then, there had been a lull in attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria. But last week, multiple rockets were launched toward Iraq's Ain al-Asad airbase housing US-led forces, US and Iraqi sources said. US officials said none had hit the base, and no damage or casualties were reported.

"The safety and protection of our troops is really, really important to me. That's why, you know, you saw us take some measures to protect ourselves here," Austin added.

Asked if the recent attacks on US forces were connected to rising tensions between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel, Austin said: "I think it's all connected."

Haniyeh's assassination drew threats of revenge on Israel and fueled further concern that the conflict in Gaza could be turning into a wider Middle East war.

Although the attack was widely assumed to have been carried out by Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said merely that Israel had delivered crushing blows to Iran's proxies over the past few days.

Asked about the killing, Austin said he had heard the reports but did not have any information to provide.



Gaza Ceasefire Still Elusive as Negotiators Try to Hammer out Deal

 This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 14, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 14, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Gaza Ceasefire Still Elusive as Negotiators Try to Hammer out Deal

 This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 14, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 14, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Negotiators were trying to hammer out the final details of a complex, phased ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday after marathon talks in Qatar aiming to end a conflict that has inflicted widespread death and destruction and upended the Middle East.

More than eight hours of talks in Doha had fueled optimism. Officials from mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US as well as Israel and Hamas said on Tuesday that an agreement for a truce in the besieged Palestinian enclave and the release of hostages was closer than ever.

But a senior Hamas official told Reuters late on Tuesday that the Palestinian group had not yet delivered its response because it was still waiting for Israel to submit maps showing how its forces would withdraw from Gaza.

During months of on-off talks to achieve a truce in the devastating 15-month-old war, both sides have previously said they were close to a ceasefire only to hit last-minute obstacles. The broad outlines of the current deal have been in place since mid-2024.

If successful, the planned phased ceasefire could halt fighting that has decimated Gaza, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, displaced most of the enclave's pre-war population of 2.3 million and is still killing dozens of people a day.

That in turn could ease tensions across the wider Middle East, where the war has fueled conflict in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, and raised fears of all-out war between Israel and Iran.

Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters stormed across its borders on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, Israeli forces have killed more than 46,700 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health officials in the enclave.

Palestinians were once again hoping the latest talks would deliver some relief from Israeli airstrikes, and ease a humanitarian crisis.

"We are waiting for the ceasefire and the truce. May God complete it for us in goodness, bless us with peace, and allow us to return to our homes," said Amal Saleh, 54, a Gazan displaced by the war.

"Even if the schools are bombed, destroyed, and ruined, we just want to know that we are finally living in peace."

Under the plan, Israel would recover around 100 remaining hostages and bodies from among those captured in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas that precipitated the war. In return it would free Palestinian detainees.

The latest draft is complicated and sensitive. Under its terms, the first steps would feature a six-week initial ceasefire.

The plan also includes a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from central Gaza and the return of displaced Palestinians to north Gaza.

The deal would also require Hamas to release 33 Israeli hostages along with other steps.

The draft stipulates negotiations over a second phase of the agreement to begin by the 16th day of phase one. Phase two includes the release of all remaining hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli soldiers.

Even if the warring sides agree to the deal on the table, that agreement still needs further negotiation before there is a final ceasefire and the release of all the hostages

If it all goes smoothly, the Palestinians, Arab states and Israel still need to agree on a vision for post-war Gaza, a massive task involving security guarantees for Israel and billions of dollars in investment for rebuilding.

ISRAELI ATTACKS

Despite the efforts to reach a ceasefire, the Israeli military, the Shin Bet internal intelligence agency and the air force attacked about 50 targets throughout Gaza over the last 24 hours, Shin Bet and the military said in a statement on Wednesday.

Israeli strikes killed at least 13 Palestinians across the enclave. Those included seven people who were in a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City, and six others killed in separate airstrikes on houses in Deir Al-Balah, Bureij camp and Rafah, medics said.

Families of hostages in Israel were caught between hope and despair.

"We can't miss this moment. This is the last moment; we can save them," said Hadas Calderon, whose husband Ofer and children Sahar and Erez were abducted.

Israel says 98 hostages are being held in Gaza, about half of whom are believed to be alive. They include Israelis and non-Israelis. Of the total, 94 were seized in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel and four have been held in Gaza since 2014.