Iraq Says Announcement on Date for End to US-Led Coalition Mission Postponed

 Iraqi fishermen prepare to get on a boat in the Shatt al-Arab river, formed at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in Iraq's southern city of Basra, on August 12, 2024. (AFP)
Iraqi fishermen prepare to get on a boat in the Shatt al-Arab river, formed at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in Iraq's southern city of Basra, on August 12, 2024. (AFP)
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Iraq Says Announcement on Date for End to US-Led Coalition Mission Postponed

 Iraqi fishermen prepare to get on a boat in the Shatt al-Arab river, formed at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in Iraq's southern city of Basra, on August 12, 2024. (AFP)
Iraqi fishermen prepare to get on a boat in the Shatt al-Arab river, formed at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in Iraq's southern city of Basra, on August 12, 2024. (AFP)

Iraq's foreign ministry said on Thursday that an announcement on an end date for the US-led coalition's mission has been postponed due to the "latest developments." It did not identify the developments.

The US-Iraq Higher Military Commission, comprising officials from both countries, discussed details of withdrawing advisers from military sites, the foreign ministry said in a statement said.

It said the only remaining issues before reaching a deal on ending the coalition's presence in Iraq were agreement on an announcement date, logical aspects and other details.

A rare ally of both the US and Iran, Iraq hosts 2,500 US troops and has Iran-backed militias linked to its security forces. It has witnessed escalating tit-for-tat attacks since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza erupted in October.

On Aug. 5, at least five US personnel were injured in an attack against a military base in Iraq.

Iraq wants troops from the US-led military coalition to begin withdrawing in September and to formally end the coalition's work by September 2025, Iraqi sources have said, with some US forces likely to remain in a newly negotiated advisory capacity.



US Says Israel Must Improve Gaza's Humanitarian Situation or Risk Aid

 People attempt to extinguish a fire at the site of an Israeli strike on tents sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
People attempt to extinguish a fire at the site of an Israeli strike on tents sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
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US Says Israel Must Improve Gaza's Humanitarian Situation or Risk Aid

 People attempt to extinguish a fire at the site of an Israeli strike on tents sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
People attempt to extinguish a fire at the site of an Israeli strike on tents sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Israel must take urgent steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza to avoid legal action involving US military aid, according to news reports on Tuesday.

"We are writing now to underscore the US government's deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, and seek urgent and sustained actions by your government this month to reverse this trajectory," they wrote in an Oct. 13 letter to their Israeli counterparts, posted by an Axios reporter on X, according to Reuters.

The State Department and Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for Israel's government also could not be immediately reached for comment.

The report comes as Israeli forces expand operations into northern Gaza amid ongoing concerns about access to humanitarian aid throughout the enclave and civilians' access to food, water and medicine.

US officials earlier this year said Israel may have violated international humanitarian law using US-supplied weapons during its military operation in Gaza.

This week's letter cited Section 620i of the Foreign Assistance Act, which restricts (prohibits) military aid to countries that impede delivery of US humanitarian assistance.

It also cited a National Security Memorandum that US President Joe Biden issued in February that requires the State Department to report to Congress on whether it finds credible Israel's assurances that its use of US weapons does not violate US or international law.