Middle East crisis live: US vows ‘very consequential’ response to deadly attack as reports suggest drone was misidentified | Israel-Gaza war

Here’s a recap of the latest developments:

• The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, said the US would take “all necessary actions” to defend its troops after Iran-backed militants killed three US troops and wounded dozens more in a drone attack on a US base in Jordan. The White House national security council spokesperson, John Kirby, said the US will “respond appropriately” but that Washington was not seeking direct confrontation with Iran. Joe Biden met members of his national security team on Monday to discuss the attack on US service members at a military outpost in Jordan.

• Joe Biden is under pressure from Republicans to strike Iran directly, and even bomb Tehran, after the drone attack on Sunday marked the first deadly strike against US troops since the Israel-Gaza war erupted in October. Three US service personnel were killed and 34 wounded on Sunday after a drone hit a residential quarters at a military outpost in Jordan known as Tower 22, which lies on the border between Iraq and Syria. US officials have said preliminary accounts suggest the enemy drone may have been confused with an American drone returning to the US installation.

• Rishi Sunak said he was concerned by the drone attack in Jordan that killed three US service personnel, as he urged Iran to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East. Downing Street has declined to comment on whether it would back any US response to the drone attack, but insisted Britain was working to “ensure regional stability”.

• At least 26,637 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza and a further 65,387 injured, according to the latest figures by Gaza’s health ministry on Monday. Two hundred and fifteen Palestinians were killed in the last 24 hours, the ministry reported.

• The surgical ward at al-Amal hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza has completely halted operations due to oxygen supplies running out, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society has said. Heavy fighting has continued around hospitals in Khan Younis over the past two days, the UN’s humanitarian agency OCHA said in its latest update on the conflict, noting that only 14 of 36 hospitals in Gaza are now partially functional. Khan Younis’ Nasser hospital, until recently the largest still accepting patients in southern Gaza, is now only “minimally functioning”, OCHA said.

• Five Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in four different incidents in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in the past 24 hours, the Palestinian health ministry said on Monday. Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that 378 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank since 7 October.

• Israel has struck an Iran-linked site south of the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing several people on Monday. Iranian and Syrian official media said the attacks came from the Golan Heights and were attributed to Israel. They have not been regarded as a direct response to the attack on the Tower 22 base on the weekend.

• Hamas fired a barrage of rockets at Tel Aviv and nearby cities on Monday, after weeks of relative quiet in central Israel. Israel’s military said 15 rockets had been fired, six of which were intercepted. There were no reports of casualties.

• Israeli troops will “very soon go into action” near the country’s northern border with Lebanon, the country’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, has said.

• Qatar’s prime minister has said “good progress” was made during weekend talks with US, Israeli and Egyptian officials in Paris on a way forward toward a new hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. Jordan’s border with Iraq and Syria. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Monday that he hoped to present a framework for such a deal to Hamas “and get them to a place where they engage constructively”. The US believes talks on a deal are “moving in a good direction” but that there is no imminent, the White House said on Monday.

• Israeli politicians and ministers have attended a conference calling for Israeli resettlement of the Gaza Strip and “voluntary migration” of the Palestinian population elsewhere. The prominent role of government figures in the far-right conference on Sunday appears to violate the international court of justice ruling last week that Israel must “take all measures within its power” to avoid acts of genocide in its war in Gaza, including the “prevention and punishment of genocidal rhetoric”. The White House described the comments as “irresponsible, reckless and incendiary”.

• The UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has warned it would not be able to continue operations in Gaza and across the region beyond the end of February if funding did not resume. Israel has claimed several UNRWA staff took part in the 7 October attacks or in the aftermath, including a school counsellor who alleged kidnapped an Israeli woman. As a result of the claims, a string of western countries including the US and the UK have suspended funding to the agency, which provides aid to more than 5.6 million Palestinian refugees across the Middle East. The charity ActionAid has described the withdrawal of funding for UNRWA as a “death sentence” for the population of Gaza.

• The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said it received a report that a merchant vessel was “approached by three small craft” about 40 nautical miles west of Yemen’s Al-Mukha. It said the merchant vessel’s security team “fired warning shots” and “carried out self-protection measures” to deter the small craft.

• The US and the UK have announced sanctions against individuals who they said targeted Iranian dissidents and activists for assassination at the direction of the Iranian regime. The UK Foreign Office announced sanctions against seven individuals and one organisation who it said were involved in threats to kill journalists on British soil, and others it said were part of international criminal gangs linked to Iran.

• US government employees are planning a “day of fasting for Gaza” this week to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in the territory and to denounce Joe Biden’s policy toward Israel.

The White House’s national security spokesperson, John Kirby, called comments on Gaza resettlement by some Israeli politicians “irresponsible, reckless and incendiary”.

Kirby was asked about a conference over the weekend in Jerusalem calling for Israeli resettlement of the Gaza Strip and “voluntary migration” of the Palestinian population elsewhere, that was attended by ministers and parliamentarians in Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government. Kirby said:

Some of this rhetoric and the language that that was attributed to some of these ministers at this event was irresponsible, reckless and incendiary.

He said the comments “certainly doesn’t comport” with US policy, adding that Washington “has made clear that there can be no reduction in Gazan territory”.

But he said the individual cabinet members “speak for themselves” and the US maintains an “open line of communication” with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Talks aimed at brokering a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas are ongoing, the White House’s national security adviser, John Kirby, has said.

Kirby noted “a lot of work” is left to be done and that there is no “imminent deal”, but added:

Based on the discussions we’ve had over the weekend, and in recent days, we feel it’s moving in a good direction.

He added that discussions have been “pretty constructive”, adding that the US was working on a humanitarian pause of “sufficient duration” that would allow a large number of hostages held in Gaza to be released.

The White House’s national security spokesperson, John Kirby, is currently briefing reporters on the drone attack hit a military outpost in Jordan, killing three US service personnel and wounded dozens.

The US president and first lady send their condolences to the families of those troops who were killed in the attack, and wish a complete recovery for those who were wounded, Kirby said.

The troops working at the desert outpost in Jordan were conducted a “vital mission” in the region aimed at helping the US work with partners to counter Isis, he said. “That mission must and will continue,” he said, adding:

We do not seek another war. We do not seek to escalate – but we will absolutely do what is required to protect ourselves to continue that mission and to respond appropriately to these attacks.

Kirby described the drone attack over the weekend as “escalatory”, adding: “Make no mistake about it, it requires a response.” He did not discuss Joe Biden’s decision making, but said “We are not looking for a war with Iran.”

US officials have said that an enemy drone that killed three US service people and wounded dozens of others in Jordan may have been confused with an American drone returning to the US installation, according to a report.

The US officials, who were not authorised to comment and insisted on anonymity, told Associated Press that preliminary accounts suggested the enemy drone that struck the installation known as Tower 22 may have been mistaken for an American drone that was in the air at the same time.

The officials said that as the enemy drone was flying in at a low altitude, a US drone was returning to the base. As a result, there was no effort to shoot down the enemy drone.

Officials said that of the 34 wounded troops, most had cuts, bruises, traumatic brain injuries and similar wounds. Eight were medically evacuated and the most seriously hurt service member is in critical but stable condition.

The possible explanation for how the enemy drone evaded US air defenses on the installation came as the White House said on Monday it was not looking for war with Iran even as Joe Biden vowed retaliatory action.

Jonathan Guyer

US government employees are planning a “day of fasting for Gaza” this week to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in the territory and to denounce Joe Biden’s policy toward Israel.

Representatives for Feds United for Peace, a group of several dozen government employees frustrated with the Gaza crisis who organized an office walkout earlier in the month, told the Guardian that on Thursday its members will stage a one-day hunger strike.

Participating federal employees are expected to show up to their offices dressed in black or wearing keffiyeh scarves or other symbols of Palestinian solidarity.

A federal employee speaking on behalf of the group said the Day of Fasting was a response to Israel’s use of “starvation as a weapon of war by intentionally withholding food from entering Gaza”, citing UN reporting that up 2 million people in the territory are at risk of famine.

The group says its members represent more than two dozen agencies, among them the departments of defense, homeland security and state, and include career public servants and political appointees. They expect hundreds of government employees to participate.

A walkout staged by the group earlier this month drew strong reactions in Washington, with national security officials from both parties criticizing their protests as insubordination.

Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, has said “good progress” was made during weekend talks with US, Israeli and Egyptian officials in Paris on a way forward toward a new hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.

Sheikh Mohammed, speaking in Washington at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council thinktank, said he hoped to present a framework for such a deal to Hamas “and get them to a place where they engage constructively”.

He confirmed that the meetings with the CIA director, William Burns, and top Israeli and Egyptian security officials had resulted in a framework for a phased truce that would see female and child hostages released first, with an increase in the trickle of aid permitted into Gaza.

The parties were “hoping to relay this proposal to Hamas and to get them to a place where they engage positively and constructively in the process”, he said.

He said Hamas had made “a clear demand” for a permanent ceasefire before the negotiations, and that the current proposal could lead to that in the future.