US airstrikes live: Fresh strikes on Houthi anti-ship missiles as America refuses to rule out Iran targets

Up to six Kurdish fighters have been killed in a drone attack hitting a base housing US troops in Syria, according to a rebel group.

The US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said the attack hit a training ground at al-Omar base in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour.

The group accused “Syrian regime-backed mercenaries” of carrying out the attack. No casualties were reported among US troops

An umbrella group of Iran-backed Iraqi militias, dubbed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, released a video claiming responsibility for the attack which showed them launching a drone from an unspecified location.

Israeli banks will comply with US sanctions against four West Bank settlers accused of violence against Palestinians despite calls from ministers to ignore them.

The Bank of Israel said the country’s banks must comply with the decision by the Biden administration as evading them could pose “significant risks”.

It comes after US President Joe Biden issued an executive order last week barring financial transactions by the four Israeli men.

“Evading such sanctions regimes can expose banks to significant risks, including compliance risks, money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism risks, legal risks, and reputation risks,” the central bank said in a statement.

“Ensuring proper conduct and orderly activity of banks in Israel is essential for maintaining the orderly activity of the economy.”

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said there was “no need” for the measures while his ultranationalist coalition allies, finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said they “harmed our citizens”.

“We are not a banana republic of the United States in this regard and we won’t allow for the harming of our citizens,” Mr Smotrich said, describing the allegations against the settlers as “utterly specious”.

He added that he would use “all available tools” to stop Israeli banks enforcing the sanctions. Both Mr Smotrich and Mr Ben-Gvir have significant support among Jewish settlers in the West Bank, which is among territories where Palestinians seek to establish an independent state.

UK Defence Minister Grant Schapps said he believes Houthi forces will continue to attempt to disrupt shipping in the Red Sea even after the group’s forces in Iraq and Syria suffered US airstrikes over the weekend.

Mr Schapps said while strikes had a “significant effect on degrading Houthi capabilities,” they would not cease their “intent to continue disrupting the Red Sea”.

The Houthis have launched dozens of attacks on targets in the Red Sea using drones, boats and missiles.

US Central Command said it struck four cruise missiles that were “imminent threats” to Red Sea targets on Sunday.

Former US diplomat Thomas Pickering said that Washington must be “careful” in its negotiations between Hamas and Israel during a campaign year. He made the comments to Al Jazeera on Monday as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits the region.

“We have an election coming up with voters who have friendships with both the Jewish community and the Arab community in the US – who are torn by this particular conflict. The Biden administration is attempting to maintain an equitable balance between the two,” he told the outlet, likening the tense negotiations to a “tightrope walk.”

“It has to be very careful,” he said.

Some Muslim communities in the US have been left furious over Joe Biden’s refusal to condemn Israeli military actions that have left millions of Palestinians displaced and tens of thousands dead.

Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder said officials were still working to determine how many were killed in strikes in Iraq and Syria over the weekend.

The attacks were in retaliation for a drone strike in Jordan that killed three US servicemembers.

“The facilities struck include command and control operations centres, intelligence centres, rockets, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicle storage, and logistics and munitions supply chain facilities,” Mr Ryder told reporters. “Although we continue to evaluate, we currently assess that we had good effects and that the strikes destroyed or functionally damaged more than 80 targets at the seven facilities. The number of casualties is still being assessed.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his meeting on Monday.

He said in a post on social media that he and the prince discussed increasing humanitarian aid to assist displaced and beseiged Palestinians in Gaza.

“Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and I met in Riyadh to discuss efforts to increase urgent humanitarian aid and ensure it gets to those who need it in Gaza,” Mr Blinken wrote. “We will continue to engage in diplomacy in the region to prevent the further spread of the conflict.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken finished his first round of talks with Saudi officials after arriving in the country on Monday.

Mr Blinken met with the officials for approximately two hours before leaving the meeting location.

Reporters on the scene shouted questions for Mr Blinken, but he declined to answer any and simply waved to the press gaggle before loading into a vehicle bound for his hotel.

The visit is Mr Blinken’s fifth to the region since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October.

US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said that Iraq was not given forewarning of US strikes aimed at Iran-backed militants operating in the region.

The strikes were made in retaliation for a drone attack that killed three US troops in Jordan.

Mr Patel said that Iraq should have been aware that a response was imminent.

“Iraq, like every country in the region, understood that there would be a response after the deaths of our soldiers. As for this specific response on Friday, there was not a pre-notification. We informed the Iraqis immediately after the strikes occurred,” Mr Patel said during a briefing.

Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud said in a post on X/Twitter that he and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin held a call recently. The officials reportedly discussed the need for de-escalation in the region to promote “security and stability.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday to begin negotiating towards a ceasfire between Hamas and Israel.

During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the US has not ruled out conducting strikes inside Iran.

The move would be a massive escalation in the broader regional conflict resulting from the Israel-Hamas war.

During the program, Mr Sullivan said the US was not looking to enter into a war in the Middle East, but noted that the US would also not tolerate military action against its forces or interests in the region.

CNN’s Dana Bash then asked if the US would consider conducting strikes inside Iranian territory.

“Look, sitting on a national TV program, I’m not going to rule in and rule out any activity anywhere. What I am going to say is that the president will do what he thinks needs to be done and again, reinforce the point that he’s going to defend our forces, and also that he is not looking to get into a war,” Mr Sullivan said.