A senior Pentagon official says U.S. and Israeli defense leaders met for about 90 minutes and discussed the need to have a well-planned military operation to defeat Hamas in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah that would unfold in phases to protect civilians and the ongoing delivery of aid. It’s unclear what impact the meeting will have on Israeli combat plans or if it calmed the growing strains between the two nations. U.S. leaders have consistently warned against a ground invasion and pressed for an alternative, more precise operation. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said before Tuesday's meeting t ..read more

An Army helicopter crashed at a military base in Washington state during a routine training exercise, sending the two pilots to a hospital. Joint Base Lewis-McChord told The News Tribune Tuesday that what the person called an “aviation mishap” on Monday night involved a U.S. Army AH-64E Apache helicopter assigned to 4-6 ACS, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade. Fire crews and deputies were sent to the crash between Olympia and Yelm at about 9:45 p.m. Southeast Thurston Fire Chief Mark King says the two pilots survived. Their names and the extent of their injuries weren't released. The cause of the cr ..read more

A British court says Julian Assange can’t be extradited to the U.S. on espionage charges unless U.S. authorities guarantee he won’t get the death penalty. The ruling is a partial victory for the WikiLeaks founder. Two High Court judges say they would grant Assange a new appeal unless U.S. authorities give further assurances within three weeks about what will happen to him. They say that if no assurances are filed by the U.S., they will grant Assange permission to appeal extradition on grounds including breach of freedom of expression. The case has been adjourned until May 20 ..read more

The Pentagon says a controversial policy that allows service members to be reimbursed for travel if they or a family member have to go out of state for reproductive health care — including abortions — was only used 12 times from June to December of last year. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin instituted the policy after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade to ensure that troops who were assigned to states where abortions or other types of health care such as IVF treatment were no longer provided could still access the services. The policy led to Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville holdin ..read more

Months after Hamas attackers killed 1,200 people, a string of Israeli farming communities they targeted just across the border fence with Gaza remain all but empty. The people who lived there are staying in hotels, dorm rooms and other locales in the country’s interior as the war rages on. Now residents of the communities – known as kibbutzim -- are starting to wrestle with vexing questions about whether, when and how to go back ..read more

An Israeli drone strike has hit a car near Lebanon’s southern port city of Sidon, killing at least two people and wounding two others. The strike near the coastal town of Jadra took place 37 miles from the Israeli border, making it one of the farthest inside Lebanon since violence erupted along the Lebanon-Israel border on Oct. 8. An Israeli security official said the target of the strike was Hamas official Basel Saleh, who was “injured to an unknown extent.” The official said Saleh was responsible for enlistment of new Hamas recruits in Gaza and the West Bank. The attack came as Iran’s foreig ..read more

Republican front-runner Donald Trump says he warned NATO allies as president that he “would encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to members who are “delinquent." Trump's comments Saturday were a ramping up of attacks on foreign aid and longstanding international alliances. NATO's leader said Trump’s words could undermine security and put American and European forces at risk. While campaigning Saturday in South Carolina, Trump recounted a story he's told before about a NATO member who confronted him over his threat not to defend members that fail to meet NATO's defense spending ..read more

The al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab has claimed an attack that killed four Emirati troops and a Bahraini military officer at a military base in the Somali capital. The attack Saturday targeted the troops at the General Gordon Military Base in Mogadishu. Details about the attack and whether it killed others remained scarce Sunday. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud offered his condolences to the UAE for the loss of its troops in the assault. The UAE identified its dead as a colonel, two warrant officers and a corporal. Bahrain said a major was killed in the attack. The troops were ..read more

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been hospitalized again following symptoms pointing to an “emergent bladder issue." In a statement, the Pentagon said Austin was transported by his security detail to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center around 2:20 p.m. Sunday. Austin has now transferred authorities to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and remains in the hospital. Austin was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December and continues to deal with complications from his treatment ..read more

U.S. officials say American fighter jets struck Iranian-backed Houthi rebel sites for the sixth time Friday, taking out anti-ship missile launchers that were prepared to fire. The officials says the strikes were carried out by F/A-18 aircraft off the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier. And they resembled similar U.S. attacks on Houthi launchers that have been occurring almost daily this week. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing military operations. President Joe Biden acknowledged Thursday that the bombardment of Houthi sites has yet to stop the militant ..read more