Release of hostages needs ceasefire, Hamas official says
Release of hostages needs ceasefire, Hamas official says
An official of the militant Hamas group conditioned the release of hostages in Gaza to a ceasefire in Israel's bombardment of the Palestinian enclave, launched after a deadly rampage into southern Israel nearly three weeks ago.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Oct 27 (Reuters) - Two U.S. fighter jets struck weapons and ammunition facilities in Syria on Friday in retaliation for attacks on U.S. forces by Iranian-backed militia as concerns grew that the Israel-Hamas conflict may spread in the Middle East.
The U.S. air strikes took place at roughly 4:30 a.m. on Friday (0130 GMT) near Abu Kamal, a Syrian town on the border with Iraq, and were carried out by two F-16 fighter jets using precision munitions, a U.S. defence official said.
"These precision self-defence strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17," U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
Biden has sent a rare message to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning Tehran against targeting U.S. personnel in the Middle East, the White House said earlier on Thursday.
Israel said on Friday military raids into Gaza were preparing "the next stage of the operation", amid fears that a ground invasion of the Palestinian enclave could spark a wider Middle East conflict.
A missile launched as part of fighting between Hamas and Israel struck an Egyptian resort town about 220 km (135 miles) from the Gaza Strip early on Friday, Egypt's Al Qahera News reported, citing sources.
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