JERUSALEM —U.S. Forces continue to face attacks in the Red Sea. On Monday, U.S. forces successfully engaged and destroyed seven anti-ship missiles, three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and three weapons storage containers in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in self-defense, according to a statement from the United States Central Command.
It was determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region. These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels.
Meanwhile, a senior U.S. official says an Israeli strike killed Marwan Issa, the deputy leader of Hamas’ armed wing in Gaza who helped plan the Oct. 7 attack. Israel and Hamas have not confirmed Issa’s death, and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan did not say how U.S. intelligence had concluded he was killed. But if the reports are confirmed, Issa would be the highest-ranking Hamas leader to have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war.
Israel has killed several top leaders of Hamas over the years, only to see them quickly replaced with little apparent impact on the group’s operations. Sullivan told reporters in Washington on Monday that Issa “was killed in an Israeli operation last week.” Issa was the deputy to Mohammed Deif, the shadowy longtime leader of Hamas’ military wing, who is said to have survived several previous Israeli attempts on his life. Hamas’ top leader in Gaza, and the alleged mastermind of the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war, is Yehya Sinwar.
Both Sinwar and Deif are believed to be alive and in hiding in Gaza, and Israel has vowed to kill them. Israel says it has killed over 13,000 Hamas fighters since the start of the war, without providing evidence.
The Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that at least 31,726 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive since Hamas’ Oct. 7 on southern Israel. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but it says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.