ANBAR, Iraq: Several rockets were launched Thursday and Friday against bases hosting troops from the US-led anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq and Syria, security officials and a war monitor said.
Such attacks were frequent early in the war between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants in Gaza but since then have largely halted.
“Four rockets fell in the vicinity” of Ain Assad base in Anbar province, an Iraqi security source said.
Another security official said an attack occurred with “a drone and three rockets” that fell close to the base perimeter.
A United States official said initial reports indicated that projectiles landed outside the base without causing injuries or damage to the base.
All sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.
At least one rocket also fell near a base of the coalition in the Conoco gas field in Deir Ezzor province of eastern Syria, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
The Observatory said a blast was heard in the area but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
The rocket was fired from “zones under the control of pro-Iranian militia” groups, said the monitor which relies on sources inside Syria.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack.
Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq have largely halted similar attacks on US-backed troops in recent months.
The latest attack come after a security meeting this week between Iraqi and US officials in Washington on the future of the international anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq. Iran-backed groups have demanded a withdrawal.
The US Defense Department said Wednesday “the delegations reached an understanding on the concept for a new phase of the bilateral security relationship.”
This would include “cooperation through liaison officers, training, and traditional security cooperation programs.”
On July 16, two drones were launched against Ain Assad base, with one exploding inside without causing injuries or damage. A senior security official in Baghdad said at the time he believed the attack was meant to “embarrass” the Iraqi government before the security meeting.
For more than three months, as regional tensions soared over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, United States troops were targeted by rockets and drones more than 175 times in the Middle East, mainly in Iraq and Syria.
The Islamic Resistance of Iraq, a loose alliance of Iran-backed groups, claimed the majority of the attacks, saying they were in solidarity with Gaza Palestinians.
In January, a drone strike blamed on those groups killed three US soldiers in a base in Jordan. In retaliation, US forces launched dozens of strikes against Tehran-backed fighters.
Since then, attacks against US troops have largely halted.
Baghdad has sought to defuse tensions, engaging in talks with Washington on the future of the US-led coalition’s mission in Iraq.
The US military has around 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria with the international coalition.
The coalition was deployed to Iraq at the government’s request in 2014 to help combat the Daesh group, which had taken over vast swathes of Iraq and neighboring Syria.
Daesh remnants still carry out attacks and ambushes in both countries.
Rockets launched at bases hosting US troops in Iraq and Syria
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Rockets launched at bases hosting US troops in Iraq and Syria
- The attack came 2 days after a military summit in Washington where Iraqi and US officials discussed winding down the coalition’s work
- At least one rocket also fell near a base of the coalition in the Conoco gas field in Deir Ezzor
’If the baby could speak, she would scream’: the risky measures to feed small babies in Gaza
- Gazan families forced to feed infants ground chickpeas, herbs
- Little formula available, many mothers unable to breastfeed
“If the baby could speak, she would scream at us, asking what we are putting into her stomach,” her aunt, Abir Hamouda said.
Muntaha grimaced and squirmed as her grandmother fed her the paste with a syringe.
Muntaha’s family is one of many in Gaza facing dire choices to try to feed babies, especially those below the age of six months who cannot process solid food.
Infant formula is scarce after a plummet in aid access to Gaza. Many women cannot breastfeed due to malnourishment, while other babies are separated from their mothers due to displacement, injury or, in Muntaha’s case, death.
Her family says the baby’s mother was hit by a bullet while pregnant, gave birth prematurely while unconscious in intensive care, and died a few weeks later. The director of the Shifa Hospital described such a case in a Facebook post on April 27, four days after Muntaha was born.
“I am terrified about the fate of the baby,” said her grandmother, Nemah Hamouda. “We named her after her mother...hoping she can survive and live long, but we are so afraid, we hear children and adults die every day of hunger.”
Muntaha now weighs about 3.5 kilograms, her family said, barely more than half of what a full-term baby her age would normally weigh. She suffers stomach problems like vomiting and diarrhea after feeding.
Health officials, aid workers and Gazan families told Reuters many families are feeding infants herbs and tea boiled in water, or grinding up bread or sesame. Humanitarian agencies also reported cases of parents boiling leaves in water, eating animal feed and grinding sand into flour.
Feeding children solids too early can disrupt their nutrition, cause stomach problems, and risk choking, paediatric health experts say.
“It’s a desperate move to compensate for the lack of food,” said UNICEF spokesperson Salim Oweis. “When mothers can’t breastfeed or provide proper infant formula they resort to grinding chickpeas, bread, rice, anything that they can get their hands on to feed their children... it is risking their health because these supplies are not made for infants to feed on.”
BABY BOTTLES WITHOUT MILK
Gaza’s spiralling humanitarian crisis prompted the main world hunger monitoring body on Tuesday to say a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding and immediate action is needed to avoid widespread death. Images of emaciated Palestinian children have shocked the world.
Gazan health authorities have reported more and more people dying from hunger-related causes. The total so far stands at 154, among them 89 children, most of whom died in the last few weeks.
With the international furor over Gaza’s ordeal growing, Israel announced steps over the weekend to ease aid access. But the UN World Food Programme said on Tuesday it was still not getting the permissions it needed to deliver enough aid.
Israel and the US accuse militant group Hamas of stealing aid — which the militants deny — and the UN of failing to prevent it. The UN says it has not seen evidence of Hamas diverting much aid. Hamas accuses Israel of causing starvation and using aid as a weapon, which the Israeli government denies.
Humanitarian agencies say there is almost no infant formula left in Gaza. The cans available in the market cost over $100 – impossible to afford for families like Muntaha’s, whose father has been jobless since the war closed his falafel business and displaced the family from their home.
In the paediatric ward of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza city of Deir Al-Balah, the infant formula supply is mostly depleted.
One mother showed how she poured thick tahini sesame paste into a bottle and mixed it with water.
“I am using this instead of milk, to compensate her for milk, but she won’t drink it,” said Azhar Imad, 31, the mother of four-month-old Joury.
“I also make her fenugreek, anize, caraway, any kind of herbs (mixed with water),” she said, panicked as she described how instead of nourishing her child, these attempts were making her sick.
Medical staff at the hospital spoke of helplessness, watching on as children’s health deteriorated with no way to safely feed them.
“Now, children are being fed either water or ground hard legumes, and this is harmful for children in Gaza,” said doctor Khalil Daqran.
“If the hunger continues ... within three or four days, if the child doesn’t get access to milk immediately, then they will die,” he said.
Damascus seeks ‘right relationship’ with Moscow, minister says
- “There are many opportunities for a united strong Syria, we hope Russia stands with us on this pathway,” Asaad Hassan Al-Shibani told Sergei Lavrov in a joint news conference
DUBAI: Syria’s foreign minister told his Russian counterpart in Moscow that the new Islamist rulers in Damascus want “the right relationship” with Moscow, a close ally of toppled Syrian leader Bashar Assad.
“There are many opportunities for a united strong Syria, we hope Russia stands with us on this pathway,” Asaad Hassan Al-Shibani told Sergei Lavrov in a joint news conference.
Lebanon’s President Aoun urges political parties to give up arms
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said on Thursday that Lebanese political parties need to seize the opportunity and hand over their weapons sooner rather than later, as Washington increases pressure on Hezbollah to give up its arms.
He added that the country would seek $1 billion annually for 10 years to support the army and security forces in Lebanon.
Arab nations call for peace, renewal of Arab Peace Initiative on final day of UN 2-state solution conference
- Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit decries ‘high price we are all paying for the system of apartheid and occupation to remain’ in Gaza, and says for Palestinians it is ‘a price paid in blood’
- Omani representative accuses Israel of unilaterally ‘eroding’ prospects for peace in ‘defiance of the provisions of international law and resolutions of international legitimacy’
Arab nations issued a unified call to end the violence in Gaza and the West Bank on Wednesday, reiterating their strongest endorsement yet of the Arab Peace Initiative as the only viable framework for regional peace and stability.
“What we’re seeing today in Gaza, the withdrawal of stability and security in the region, is indeed the outcome of the ongoing occupation,” said a representative of the Arab League, delivering a statement on behalf of the organization’s secretary-general, Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
“This is the price being paid by Palestinians, a price paid in blood.”
He described the toll as “an extremely high price that we are all paying for the system of apartheid and occupation to remain on this land,” adding that the League remains committed to the Arab Peace Initiative, which was initially adopted in Beirut, 23 years ago.
“This vision hasn’t, however, been reciprocated. Rather, it has been countered by arrogance and nationalism based on religious sectarian views that will lead the region to an unknown future,” he said.
The comments came at the conclusion of the “High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution” at the UN headquarters in New York.
Oman echoed the sentiment, with its representative reaffirming that “comprehensive and lasting peace” must be grounded in the framework of international law, as outlined in the Arab Peace Initiative.
In a position similar to that adopted by other nations during the conference, the Omani representative accused Israel of unilaterally “eroding” the prospects for peace, in what he described as “defiance of the provisions of international law and resolutions of international legitimacy.”
He continued: “The nature of the current Israeli government’s policies, as the most extreme in decades, further complicates the landscape and directly hampers all effort to relaunch the peace process.”
The Gulf Cooperation Council reiterated its position of support for a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, condemned the continuing Israeli aggression against Gaza, and demanded that it end.
The council’s representative said it also rejected Israeli settlement policies as a blatant violation, and called for full humanitarian access in Gaza and reconstruction of the territory to begin.
“True greatness is not based on power but on the ability to use power to serve justice,” he added. “It is time to turn this principle into (a) clear international position that recognizes (a) fully independent Palestinian state.”
The representative for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation joined the others in advocating for a two-state solution, and stressed the need for Israeli authorities to act in accordance with UN resolutions.
Israel is guilty of “systemic crimes including aggression, genocide, destruction, displacement, starvation and blockade on the Gaza Strip,” he added, in addition to “illegal policies of settlement expansion, annexation and ethnic cleansing.”
Moreover, Israel’s intention “to impose its so-called sovereignty over the West Bank, including the occupied city of Jerusalem … constitutes flagrant violations of international law and the relevant UN resolutions,” the representative said as he called for an end to all such actions.
The calls came as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the conflict in Gaza has reached “breaking point.” International pressure for a ceasefire agreement continues to mount but Israel has resisted calls to halt its military operations, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly moving ahead with plans to annex parts of Gaza if Hamas rejects a truce.
On Wednesday, sources said Israel had turned down the latest ceasefire proposal, citing its refusal to withdraw forces from key areas of the territory.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, described this week’s UN conference as “a political circus” against Israel.
“We’re seeing a detachment from reality, the spread of lies, and support for terrorism,” he wrote in a message posted on social media platform X.
The US special envoy to the Middle East, Steven Witkoff, was expected to arrive in Tel Aviv on Thursday for talks with Israeli officials. His visit comes as the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification warns that the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out” in Gaza.
Iran’s representative at the UN also spoke on the final day of the conference, condemning a “policy of appeasement” from the international community toward Israel, and calling for concrete action.
“In light of its continued defiance of the UN Charter, the Israeli regime must face targeted sanctions and suspension of its UN membership to protect the integrity and credibility of the organization,” the he said.
He further urged member states to press the Security Council to admit Palestine as a full member of the UN and insisted that “this process must not be obstructed by the United States.” Palestine currently has observer status at the UN.
A follow-up summit to this week’s conference is planned to take place during the UN General Assembly in September.
UN expert on torture demands end to ‘lethal, inhumane, degrading’ starvation of civilians in Gaza
- Alice Jill Edwards says prolonged calorie deprivation is causing malnutrition, organ failure and death, particularly among vulnerable groups such as infants and pregnant women
- ‘Constantly changing rules, militarized distributions, and daily and hourly uncertainty about when one is going to access these basic necessities is causing utter despair, stress and trauma’
NEW YORK CITY: The UN’s special rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, on Wednesday expressed grave concern over the growing number of starvation-related deaths among Palestinians in Gaza.
She described the starving of civilians as ‘lethal, inhumane and degrading,’ and called for the rapid and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to the battered enclave.
“Depriving people of food, water and dignity has been a serious and recurring violation of this war and it must end,” she said, citing “shocking” reports of people being killed while queuing for food, as well as widespread hunger and malnutrition.
The risk of all-out famine in Gaza is escalating, she added, stressing that all parties to the conflict have legal obligations under international law to ensure civilians under their control have access to food and water, and to facilitate humanitarian operations.
“They must not steal, divert or willfully impede the distribution of aid,” Edwards said.
She detailed the “catastrophic physiological consequences” of prolonged calorie deprivation, including malnutrition, organ failure and death, particularly among vulnerable groups such as infants and pregnant women.
“The psychological impact of being deprived of food and water is inherently cruel,” she added.
“Constantly changing rules, militarized distributions and daily and hourly uncertainty about when one is going to access these basic necessities is causing utter despair, stress and trauma.”
She welcomed a recent announcement by Israel of humanitarian pauses in military operations to allow the World Food Programme to deliver aid throughout Gaza over a planned three-month period, but said “more must be done” to end the hostilities and establish long-term peace based on a two-state solution.
“No one should have to suffer the humiliation of being forced to beg for food, and especially not when there are ample supplies waiting to be provided,” she said.
Edwards also reiterated her call for the unconditional and immediate release of all hostages, the release of arbitrarily detained Palestinians, and for independent investigations into allegations of torture, ill-treatment and other potential war crimes by all parties.
She said she has raised her concerns repeatedly with relevant authorities and continues to press for full accountability.
Special rapporteurs are part of what is known as the special procedures of the UN Human Rights Council. They are independent experts who work on a voluntary basis, are not members of UN staff and are not paid for their work.
