Israel, US sound alarm over Iran proxy attacks on American troops

TEL AVIV, Israel (NewsNation) — The Pentagon sounded the alarm over drone and rocket attacks on American troops in the Middle East, pinning it on Iranian proxy groups despite having no direct evidence that Iran ordered these attacks.

At least 24 U.S. troops have been injured in Iraq and Syria over the past week.

But the Pentagon isn’t the only one sounding the alarm on Iran and its proxy fighters.

An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson reverberated the same claims, saying Iran ordered recent attacks by allies in Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon.

“Iran helped Hamas before the war directly with training, supplying weapons, money and technological know-how. Even at these moments, Iranian aid to Hamas continues in intelligence and incitement on the networks, in encouragement all over the world, and in incitement against the state of Israel,” IDF Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said. “The instructions come from only one place, from Iran.”

The White House said it is preparing to evacuate Americans from the Middle East if the Israel-Hamas war spills into a broader regional conflict.

President Joe Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman spoke Tuesday on ways to keep Hezbollah and Iran out of the war.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has come under fire, with Israel claiming his new comments show compassion for Hamas after its brutal assault on Oct. 7.

“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. The grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas, and those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” Guterres said.

Despite clarifying Hamas’ attacks are not justified, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. called for Guterres’ resignation and will refuse visas to U.N. officials.

Israel’s foreign minister also announced he will no longer meet with the U.N. chief.

Guterres rejected these accusations on Wednesday, saying he was shocked by the misrepresentation of his statement.

“I am shocked by the misrepresentations by some of my statement … as if I was justifying acts of terror by Hamas. This is false. It was the opposite,” he told reporters. “I believe it’s necessary to set the record straight – especially out of respect for the victims and their families.”

Overnight, Israel kept up its bombardment of Gaza as the war entered its 19th day.

IDF released a video late Tuesday of the strikes on Hamas infrastructure, including tunnel shafts, military headquarters, mortars and anti-tank missiles.

Some of the destroyed targets were “blockades that prevented Gazans from evacuating,” IDF said.

In Gaza, the UNRWA said nearly 600,000 Palestinians were spread out across 150 facilities. The U.N. agency posted on social media Wednesday, saying, “Our shelters are four times over their capacities. Many people are sleeping in the streets as current facilities are overwhelmed.”

On Tuesday, the UNRWA said it would have to halt operations in Gaza Wednesday night if it doesn’t receive fuel urgently.

However, IDF responded Wednesday with an aerial image of fuel tanks inside Gaza.

“These fuel tanks are inside Gaza. They contain more than 500,000 liters of fuel. Ask Hamas if you can have some,” the post said.