Will the war in Gaza spill over to the Middle East?

“Tehran would be wise to caution restraint to its regional proxies and partners, as Washington has made clear that Tehran will be held responsible for the actions of Hezbollah and others,” Jonathan Lord, senior fellow and director of the middle east security program at the Center for a New American Security, told Rudaw English on Tuesday.

US forces in Iraq and Syria as part of an international coalition to fight the Islamic State (ISIS) have been the target of a recent spate of drone and rocket attacks blamed on Iran-backed militia groups angry over Washington’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza. There are around 2,500 US troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria.

A Pentagon spokesperson told reporters on Tuesday that US forces came under at least 27 separate rocket and drone attacks this month.

“Washington is not seeking escalation or expansion of the conflict occurring between Israel and Hamas, any attack launched against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria is unprovoked and a cowardly attack,” Lord said.

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