WASHINGTON (AP)— Two U.S. senior defense officials briefing reporters at the Pentagon on Monday said that from Oct. 17 to Oct. 30, U.S. and coalition forces were attacked at least 14 times in Iraq and nine times in Syria by a mix of drones and rockets for a total of 23 attacks.
The officials said many of the drones and rockets were intercepted and failed to reach their targets.
Bases housing U.S. troops in Syria and Iraq have come under rocket and drone attacks over the past weeks as tensions in the region rise over the Israel-Hamas war.
Meanwhile, Israel expanded its military incursion deeper into the northern part of the Gaza Strip on Monday as the U.N. and medical staff expressed fears over airstrikes hitting closer to hospitals, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have sought shelter alongside thousands of wounded. The largest convoy of humanitarian aid to arrive in Gaza still fell far short of needs, relief workers said.
The movements of recent days, including larger ground operations both north and east of Gaza City, point to a focus on the city.
Israel’s military said late Monday that a female soldier captured during Hamas’ wide-ranging Oct. 7 attack inside Israel was released during its ground operation — the first such rescue since the weekslong war began.
The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 8,306, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, more than 110 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them civilians slain in the initial Hamas rampage that started the fighting Oct. 7. In addition, 240 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by the militant group.