一 | The USS Carney, a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer in the northern Red Sea, on Thursday shot down multiple missiles and drones launched by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen that the Pentagon said were potentially headed toward targets in Israel.It is the first time in recent memory that a U.S. Navy ship in the Middle East has engaged missiles and drones that were not directly aimed at the vessel.It's also the first U.S. military action taken to defend Israel in the current crisis and with the U.S. and other countries trying to contain the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the possibility that an Iranian-backed proxy group fired missiles and drones at Israel is sure to increase growing regional tensions.The ship was in the northern Red Sea on Thursday evening local time when it intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a press briefing. U.S. officials told ABC News that the Carney had brought down eight drones launched by the Houthis.The preliminary U.S. assessment was that the USS Carney was not the target of any of the Houthi missiles or drones, according to multiple U.S. officials."We cannot say for certain what these missiles and drones were targeting but they were launched from Yemen heading north along the Red Sea potentially to targets in Israel," said Ryder who added that information about the engagements was still being processed.It’s unclear from where the Houthi militia's missiles were fired but they were headed in a northerly direction, an official said.The Houthis are an Iranian-backed Shiite movement that has seized control over much of northern Yemen and has been at war with recent years while Yemen has been at war with a Saudi-led coalition since 2015.As part of that conflict, the Houthis have launched missiles and drones deep into Saudi Arabia, but it appears that the missiles intercepted on Thursday were not aimed at targets inside Saudi Arabia.Last week, Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi was quoted as saying that if the U.S. directly intervened in the Gaza conflict his group would respond by firing drones and missiles, and take other military options."There are red lines when it comes to Gaza," he said.Thursday's incident occurred during the early evening hours (local time) when the missiles and drones were detected moving northward above the waters of the Red Sea.The missiles fired by the Houthis were engaged by SM2 missiles carried aboard the USS Carney, a U.S. official told ABC News. No information was released about what weapons platform aboard the Carney brought down the 8 drones.Brig. Gen. Ryder told reporters that the intercepts had taken place over water and not land. No sailors aboard the ship were harmed according to a U.S. official.The United States has boosted its military presence in the region since the start of the Israel-Hamas war nearly two weeks ago.The USS Carney is part of the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group that was deployed to the eastern Mediterranean to deter Iran and Hezbollah from joining the Israel-Hamas war. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently extended the deployment of the Ford strike group so it can remain in the eastern Mediterranean and had ordered the deployment of additional fighter aircraft to U.S. airbases in the region.To increase U.S. deterrence of an expansion in the conflict the Ford will soon be joined in the eastern Mediterranean by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group that left Norfolk, Virginia on Saturday and could arrive in the region over the next 7 to 10 days."By posturing these U.S. naval assets and advanced fighter aircraft in the region, we aim to send a strong message intended to deter a wider conflict to bolster regional stability and of course to make it clear that we will protect and defend our national security interests," Ryder told reporters Thursday.The USS Carney had just transited into the Red Sea through the Suez Canal on Wednesday which is why the destroyer was still located in the northern stretch of that body of water that borders, Egypt, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.The missile shot down by the USS Carney will bolster the deterrence in the region and demonstrate that the show of force is serious stuff, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.The risk to U.S. forces and U.S. interests in the region has increased particularly in the wake of a deadly explosion at a hospital in Gaza earlier this week that inflamed regional tensions.On Wednesday, three drones were shot down by U.S. military forces as they neared bases in western and northern Iraq, another drone was shot down near U.S. forces in eastern Syria on Thursday.A U.S. contractor sheltering in place at one of the bases in Iraq died of a cardiac arrest in one of the incidents.Al Asad airbase in western Iraq experienced indirect fire on Thursday according to a U.S. official.The Carney's shootdown of Houthi missiles opens up the possibility that the U.S. Navy may have to position more ships in the Red Sea if the U.S. commits to protecting Israel from a southern attack said Steve Ganyard, an ABC News contributor and a former Pentagon official."The larger concern is if Iran now considers U.S. ships fair game," said Ganyard. "Because if the Houthis shoot at a U.S. ship there will be little doubt that it would have been at Tehran’s direction.""That said, there is nothing to suggest, no known reason to believe that Iran wants a fight with the U.S. and/or Israel," said Ganyard. "So, hopefully things calm down."ABC News' Martha Raddatz contributed to this report.。
二 | 负责报道中东事务的该报记者拉拉·科特在社交媒体上表示，她同样遭到解雇。近期，《星条旗报》与《军队时报》曾报道美军“亚伯拉罕·林肯”号航母上的恶劣环境，以及部分美军家属对舰员心理健康和自残风险的担忧。美国国防部未立即回应置评请求。《星条旗报》自二战以来持续出版，为全球美军提供新闻服务。该报接受美国国防部拨款。近日，“林肯”号航母被曝出风波，多方消息称，舰上约5000名船员士气低落，加上物资短缺、生活条件恶劣，已有多人精神崩溃，试图跳海。
“林肯”号航母资料图 图源：新华社美国《海军时报》和《星条旗报》称，“林肯”号航母至少出现两起舰上水手跳海事件。美国《海军时报》采访到安娜贝尔·洛马，她的丈夫就是试图跳海的船员之一。据洛马介绍，丈夫在海上的时间不断延长，目前正在舰上休病假。跳海未遂后，他与洛马只通过几次话。洛马说：“他很害怕，认为自己会被开除军籍，就因为他精疲力竭，13年的职业生涯就这样毁了。
三 | ”报道还提及，另有两人跳海未遂，还有不少船员在与亲属联系时情绪低落、疲惫不堪。
图源；新华国际头条美国海军并未披露“林肯”号上试图跳海或自残的船员确切人数，但美国《星条旗报》报道说，根据对多名现役船员及其亲属的采访，并结合社交媒体信息判断，多名船员都报告过自杀想法。然而，美军中央司令部称多家媒体就“林肯”号航母部署中东期间的情况发布了“虚假报道”。美国防长赫格塞思将关于“林肯”号恶劣条件的报道称为“完全失实”和“被完全歪曲”。美军中央司令部称，“林肯”号在所有美军航母中一直保持着“最高的人员续约率之一（84.4%）”。在海上连续部署超过260天、执行1万架次飞行任务、投掷150万磅弹药之后，“林肯”号航母打击群的海军及海军陆战队官兵依然“意志坚定、士气高昂”。舰上“并无任何军人死亡”，8月3日那名落水的水兵也已被迅速且安全地救起。极目新闻综合CCTV国际时讯、新华国际头条、环球时报
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