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Three US troops killed near Jordan base amid regional fears

Gaza war: Three US troops killed in drone attack as fears of regional escalation rise
MENA
15 min read
28 January, 2024
CIA-led talks in Paris show potential for a truce in the Israel's war in Gaza while a humanitarian crisis escalates with more than a million displaced.

Three US service members were killed and many wounded when an unmanned aerial drone attacked American forces stationed in northeastern Jordan on Sunday, raising fears of a regional escalation from Israel's war on Gaza.

The Director of the CIA is reportedly scheduled to meet with representatives from Qatar, Egypt, and Israel in Paris to discuss a potential temporary ceasefire in Gaza that includes a prisoner exchange.

The talks come as Israel continues its assault on Gaza's south, forcing residents of Khan Younis to flee for the border city of Rafah. Gaza's displaced people have been left to sleep on the streets and in tents, exposed to harsh weather and flooding.

Despite the  that Israel must do its utmost to limit death and destruction in Gaza, the Palestinian death toll has continued to climb.

Health authorities in Gaza said on Sunday that Israel's war on the besieged territory has killed at least 26,422 people and injured 65,087 since 7 October.

Israel is formally on trial at the ICJ for alleged genocide against Palestinians.

In its granting of provisional measures, court also ordered Israel to urgently get aid to Gaza. The amount of aid entering the territory remains well below the daily average of 500 trucks before the war, and UN agencies say distribution within Gaza has been severely hampered by the fighting and delays at Israeli checkpoints.

Several Western states, including the Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK and the US, have suspended funding for the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) following Israeli claims that 12 of the agency's staff participated in the 7 October attack by Hamas and allied groups.

The Israeli allegations – based on "confessions" obtained in interrogations – have not been independently verified, with observers accusing Israel's allies of collectively punishing the Palestinian people by suspending UNRWA funding.