Iraq condemns fatal US drone strike
Killing of militia commander is called an ‘assassination’
The U.S. drone strike that killed an Iraqibased militant leader was a “blatant assassination” that showed no regard for international law, the Iraqi government said Thursday.
The strike blew up a car in a Baghdad neighborhood late Wednesday, killing a commander of the Kataib Hezbollah militia responsible for planning and participating in attacks on American troops in the region, the U.S. military said.
Hezbollah in Lebanon condemned the killing as “a continuation to the US’ previous crime and continuous aggression against our people in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.”
Maj. Gen. Yehia Rasool, spokesman for Iraq’s government, said the strike violated Iraqi sovereignty and showed disregard for the safety of civilians. Rasool said in a social media post that the U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq consistently deviates from “the reasons and objectives” for its presence in the country, which is to prevent an Islamic State resurgence.
“This trajectory compels the Iraqi govern
ment more than ever to terminate the mission of this coalition, which has become a factor for instability and threatens to entangle Iraq in the cycle of conflict,” he said.
The U.S. has blamed the Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose association of insurgent groups, for a series of strikes on U.S. bases in the region − including the attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. military personnel on Jan. 28.
Wednesday’s strike is the latest in what the Pentagon and White House have said will be a continuing effort to deter Iranian-backed militias from attacking U.S. troops in the region, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly. U.S. forces conducted preemptive strikes against two antiship cruise missiles Houthi rebels were ready to launch against ships in the Red Sea, and later against one of their land attack cruise missiles also ready to be fired, Central Command said Thursday. The missiles “presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region,” it said.
Germany, meanwhile, is sending the Hessen, a Navy ship with 240 service members, to patrol the Red Sea as part of a European Union mission expected to begin later this month to help defend cargo vessels from Houthi attacks.
Reports: Israel might let Oct. 7 planner go free
Israel is willing to allow Oct. 7 attack mastermind Yahya Sinwar and other top Hamas leaders in Gaza to flee into exile in exchange for the release of all remaining militant-held hostages and an end to Hamas rule in the enclave, NBC News reported, citing multiple Israeli officials it did not name.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed as recently as this week to continue fighting until Hamas leadership is killed. Israel says Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, leader of the Hamas military wing, directed the rampage that killed 1,200 people in Israel border communities. Over 240 others were kidnapped and spirited away to Gaza, and more than 100 of them were released during a weeklong November cease-fire.
Two sources familiar with discussions inside the Israeli government told NBC that other proposals Israelis raised with U.S. officials included replacing Hamas with hand-picked civilian leaders. The U.S. has lobbied for a revamped Palestinian Authority, which governs the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to take control of Gaza. The U.S., Qatar and Egypt have been working to broker a cease-fire and longterm peace plan since the war began. Netanyahu on Wednesday rejected a Hamas-proposed cease-fire plan that would include the release of the remaining hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and an end to a war.
UN: Israel’s apparent buffer zone is a war crime
Israel’s reported effort to destroy Gaza buildings along the border to create a buffer zone is a war crime, United Nations rights chief Volker Turk warned Thursday. He said his office had recorded “widespread destruction and demolition” of civilian infrastructure including residential buildings, schools and universities in areas where fighting is not taking place.
The Israeli government has not formally confirmed that a buffer zone is being created, but the military has alluded to it while destroying buildings along the border. The U.S has opposed creation of a buffer zone or any permanent change in Palestinian territory.
“I stress to the Israeli authorities ... the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits destruction by the occupying power of property belonging to private persons, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations,” Turk said.
Airstrikes Wednesday into Thursday killed at least 13 in Rafah, underscoring Israel’s determination to press into the southern Gaza city, where more than 1 million Palestinians have fled to escape the fighting.
After meeting Netanyahu on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed once again the importance of protecting Palestinian civilians. About 85% of Gaza’s prewar population of 2.3 million has been displaced, the majority of them now in and around Rafah after instructions from the Israeli military to leave combat areas to the north. Aid organizations have warned about the catastrophic consequences of a major military operation in Rafah.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday the administration has seen no indication Israel has imminent plans for a ground operation in Rafah, even though Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has advocated for one.