January 28, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

The number of service members wounded in the attack on a US base in Jordan now stands at more than 30 — and is likely to rise further as they seek treatment for symptoms consistent with traumatic brain injury, two US officials said.

The attack drone that struck overnight landed near the living quarters at the base, according to the officials.

The base that was attacked is a small US outpost called Tower 22, near the border with Syria. It’s unclear why air defenses failed to intercept the drone, which appears to be the first known attack on Tower 22 since attacks on US and coalition forces in the region began October 17.

US forces at the outpost are there as part of an "advise and assist" mission with Jordan. 

US President Joe Biden vowed those responsible for the deaths of three US service members in an overnight drone attack on a small US outpost in Jordan will be held accountable, and cast blame on Iran-backed militant groups.

At least two dozens others were wounded in the attack.

"While we are still gathering the facts of this attack, we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq,” Biden continued.

Biden vowed the US “will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing.” He called the three fallen service members “patriots,” praising their bravery and offering his grief, calling it a “despicable and wholly unjust attack.” 

“Together, we will keep the sacred obligation we bear to their families. We will strive to be worthy of their honor and valor. We will carry on their commitment to fight terrorism,” the president said.

Biden was briefed on the attack Sunday morning in South Carolina, where he is campaigning for re-election, according to the White House. He also participated in a larger virtual briefing with Vice President Kamala Harris and top national security officials later in the day, the White House said. 

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and deputy national security adviser Jon Finer provided the initial briefing.

This post has been updated with details about Biden's briefings on the attack.

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez contributed reporting to this post.

The overnight drone strike on a US military base in Jordan — which killed the first US service members in the Middle East since the start of the war in Gaza — comes after weeks of efforts by officials to avoid a broader regional conflict.

A key part of the US’ work in the Middle East is “not to have the conflict broaden,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown said in a pre-recorded interview that just aired on ABC News Sunday morning.

Brown said the goal was deterrence of Iranian proxies operating in the region, like the Houthi rebels in Yemen and the powerful Hezbollah paramilitary group in Lebanon.

Attacks before Sunday: There have been dozens of injuries since recent attacks on US and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria began — a senior military official told reporters last week there were roughly 70. The Pentagon had previously classified most of them as minor, aside from one US soldier who was critically injured in an attack in Iraq on Christmas Day.

The US has taken several retaliatory actions against the Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria, one as recently as last week when the US struck three facilities in Iraq used by Kataib Hezbollah and other Iran-affiliated groups. 

The killing of three Americans also comes as the US and Iraq are expected to soon begin talks about the future of the US military presence in the country.

Three US Army troops were killed and at least two dozen service members were wounded in a drone attack overnight on a small US outpost in Jordan, US officials tell CNN, marking the first time US troops have been killed by enemy fire in the Middle East since the beginning of the Gaza war. 

The killing of three Americans at Tower 22 in Jordan near the border with Syria is a significant escalation of an already-precarious situation in the Middle East.

US Central Command confirmed in a statement later Sunday that three service members were killed and 25 injured in a one-way drone attack that “impacted at a base in northeast Jordan.”

As of Friday, there had been more than 158 attacks on US and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, though officials have described the constant volley of drones, rockets and missiles as unsuccessful, as they have frequently not caused serious injury or damage to infrastructure. 

It’s unclear why air defenses failed to intercept the drone, which appears to be the first known attack on Tower 22 since attacks on US and coalition forces began October 17. US forces at the outpost are there as part of an "advise and assist" mission with Jordan. 

US officials have repeatedly said they do not want to see the increasingly high tensions across the Middle East during Israel's fighting with Hamas broaden into a regional war.

Asked last week if the Pentagon assessed that Iranian proxies were stepping up their attacks on US forces, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said, “Not necessarily, no.”

This post has been updated with confirmation from US Central Command.

The Israel Defense Forces says it has struck Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon with fighter jets and artillery Sunday.

Hezbollah fighters also hit Israeli infantry on the Lebanese-Israeli border today, according to the Lebanese news agency NNA.

Remember: Cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah — the powerful Iran-backed paramilitary — has become a near-daily occurrence since the Lebanese militants increased attacks on Israel a day after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023.

The fighting is among several key flashpoints in fears that the war in Gaza will continue spreading into a wider Middle East conflict.

France has “no plans to make a further payment in the first half of 2024” to the United Nations relief agency in Gaza, its foreign ministry said in a statement Sunday. 

The ministry pointed to the accusations by Israel that some UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) staff members were involved in the Hamas attacks on October 7 of last year, calling the allegations "exceptionally serious." 

France had contributed nearly 60 million euros (around $65 million) to UNRWA in 2023.

The foreign ministry said in its statement that it will decide "when the time comes" what it will do to ensure requirements for aid transparency and security are taken into account.

A growing list: France joins these other donor nations in pausing financial support for UNWRA in light of the allegations:

Ireland and Norway say they will continue to fund the UN agency.

Hundreds of Israeli protesters on Sunday blocked aid trucks from driving into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, demanding that hostages held in Gaza are freed before any more aid is delivered into the Strip, CNN's International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson reports from the scene.

The protests have been ongoing for days and were organized by families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. On Sunday, the protesters again blocked the convoys, despite an expectation that Israeli police would clear the protests to allow the crossing to operate, Robertson reports. The aid trucks, however, remain parked a few hundred meters from the protesters.

On Wednesday, only nine trucks crossed into Gaza via Kerem Shalom due to the protests, while the crossing remained closed Thursday and Friday due to protesters blocking access, according to Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). The border was closed Saturday for Shabbat.

Last Sunday, 139 aid trucks were inspected and transferred via Kerem Shalom, according to COGAT.

United Nations officials have warned of the repercussions of declining humanitarian access in parts of Gaza and the blocking of aid at the crossing, saying famine is looming in the enclave and hospitals are in dire shape.

Nowara Diab was trying to drown out the sounds of airstrikes by listening to music, but it was not enough to shake the unsettled feeling in her gut.

Then her phone rang. It was a friend, who said they had heard that Maimana Jarada — Diab’s best friend — and her family had been killed by Israeli bombardment.

Her stomach was in knots as she felt herself panicking. Diab called Jarada’s number repeatedly but when there was no answer, it dawned on her that it was true: Jarada had been killed.

The 20-year-old says she broke down in tears as she felt the walls close in around her. The pain was even more intense for Diab because she had learned only 10 days earlier that another friend, Abraham Saidam, had also been killed by Israeli airstrikes.

Despite repeated telecommunications blackouts amid Israel’s siege, Diab has managed to speak to CNN from Gaza through voice notes, text messages and videos about the life and friendships she has lost since October 7.

Heavy fighting in the vicinity of the Nasser and Al-Amal hospitals in Khan Younis in Gaza has continued into a seventh day Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Palestinian Ministry of Health both said.

The IDF again said it was carrying out "precise operations" against Hamas in the southern city, saying its intelligence indicates members of Hamas are operating inside and around the Nasser and Al-Amal hospitals.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said hospital facilities have over the past week been "under siege" after the Israeli military intensified its operations in Khan Younis.

Oxygen supplies at Al Amal hospital have been depleted and that medical teams are unable to perform surgeries as a result, PRCS warned Sunday. It said it is coordinating with the International Committee of the Red Cross "to explore the possibility of providing a safe passage" so oxygen cylinders can be brought to the hospital.

The IDF said they continue to liaise with hospital directors and medical staff to “ensure that the hospitals can remain operational and accessible.” They said that they have not ordered either hospital to evacuate, but that civilians who wish to do so are able to through a specified corridor.

The Nasser Medical Complex is the largest functioning health facility in Gaza.