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In this Feb. 12, 2021, photo released by the U.S. Navy, personnel from the USS Winston S. Churchill interdict a shipment of weapons off the coast of Somalia. (Petty Officer 3rd Class Louis St/AP)

Search ongoing for Navy SEALs lost at sea during ship-boarding operation

Updated January 14, 2024 at 9:04 p.m. EST|Published January 14, 2024 at 1:26 a.m. EST
2 min

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CBS News’s “Face the Nation” that the “search is still ongoing” for two Navy SEALs lost at sea after an accident during a ship-boarding operation near Somalia last week. Two U.S. officials familiar with the incident told The Washington Post that the missing sailors were looking for suspected Iranian weapons bound for militants in Yemen, which has become a staging ground for repeated attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

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Kirby said Sunday that the Biden administration has urged Israel to transition to lower-intensity attacks against Hamas, such as more targeted raids, that would better safeguard civilians. Kirby told CBS that Israel has already withdrawn some troops and is using fewer airstrikes. “We believe it’s the right time for that transition,” he said. “We’re not saying let your foot up off the gas completely and don’t keep going after Hamas.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure while about 100 hostages remain with Hamas militants, said Israel was “not giving up” on efforts to release them and would continue the war for months. Netanyahu said at a budget meeting Sunday that his government “will need to invest in a multiyear plan to free the State of Israel from dependence on external acquisitions for many items” related to defense.
Israeli forces killed another journalist in Gaza, his employer Al-Ghad TV announced Sunday. Camera operator Yazan al-Zwaidi, 27, was killed in northern Gaza, the outlet said. Ahmed Odeh, who leads the Gaza office, lauded Zwaidi’s work and blamed Israel for his death. Responding to questions about Zwaidi, the Israel Defense Forces said it “has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists.”
A near-total internet blackout in Gaza has lasted more than 48 hours, monitoring group NetBlocks said Sunday on social media. This is the ninth outage in the Strip since Oct. 7, it added.
At least 23,968 people have been killed in Gaza and 60,582 wounded since the war began, the Gaza Health Ministry said Sunday. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.
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Kirby said Sunday that the Biden administration has urged Israel to transition to lower-intensity attacks against Hamas, such as more targeted raids, that would better safeguard civilians. Kirby told CBS that Israel has already withdrawn some troops and is using fewer airstrikes. “We believe it’s the right time for that transition,” he said. “We’re not saying let your foot up off the gas completely and don’t keep going after Hamas.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure while about 100 hostages remain with Hamas militants, said Israel was “not giving up” on efforts to release them and would continue the war for months. Netanyahu said at a budget meeting Sunday that his government “will need to invest in a multiyear plan to free the State of Israel from dependence on external acquisitions for many items” related to defense.
Israeli forces killed another journalist in Gaza, his employer Al-Ghad TV announced Sunday. Camera operator Yazan al-Zwaidi, 27, was killed in northern Gaza, the outlet said. Ahmed Odeh, who leads the Gaza office, lauded Zwaidi’s work and blamed Israel for his death. Responding to questions about Zwaidi, the Israel Defense Forces said it “has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists.”
A near-total internet blackout in Gaza has lasted more than 48 hours, monitoring group NetBlocks said Sunday on social media. This is the ninth outage in the Strip since Oct. 7, it added.
At least 23,968 people have been killed in Gaza and 60,582 wounded since the war began, the Gaza Health Ministry said Sunday. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.
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Live coverage contributors 8

Israel-Gaza war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected what he said were conditions proposed by Hamas for the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza — including the end of the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Strip, leaving Hamas in place.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military ended its search for two Navy SEALs lost at sea during a mission to intercept Iranian weapons bound for militants in Yemen.

Oct. 7 attack: Hamas spent more than a year planning its assault on Israel. A Washington Post video analysis shows how Hamas exploited vulnerabilities created by Israel’s reliance on technology at the “Iron Wall,” the security barrier bordering the Gaza Strip, to carry out the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. Stock traders earned millions of dollars anticipating the Hamas attack, a study found.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip has a complicated history. Understand what’s behind the Israel-Gaza war and read about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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