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Near-daily attacks on United States forces in Iraq and Syria have stopped since a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas Movement went into effect in the Gaza Strip last week, the Pentagon said on November 28.
U.S. forces in the two countries have been targeted with rockets and drones at least 73 times since October 17. Dozens of troops were lightly wounded in the attacks, which also caused material losses. Most of the attacks were claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), a coalition of Iranian-backed armed factions, which also carried out strikes against targets in Israel.
“There have been no attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since November 23, since the operational pause [in Gaza] began,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told journalists.
On November 25, Kata’ib Hezbollah, a leading faction of the IRI, announced that it had joined the temporary ceasefire in Gaza by pausing attacks against Israel and reducing military operations against U.S. forces.
U.S. retaliatory strikes targeted several positions of Kata’ib Hezbollah and other IRI targets in Iraq earlier this month, killing at least nine fighters.
The temporary ceasefire in Gaza didn’t not only lead to de-escalation in Iraq and Syria, but also in Lebanon where Iranian-backed Hezbollah also halted attacks against Israel.
In Yemen, the Houthis (Ansar Allah), who are also backed by Iran, didn’t clarify their position on the ceasefire in Gaza. However, they have not launched any attack against Israel or targeted any Israeli-owned or operated ship since the ceasefire began.
The ceasefire in Gaza, which was brokered by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, have led to a significant reduction in tensions in the Middle East. Efforts are reportedly underway to further extend the temporary ceasefire and secure the release of more Israeli hostages.
