General Pat Ryder Holds Pentagon Press Briefing As Violence Between Hamas And Israel Continues

all right well good afternoon everyone and thank you very much for your patience I do have quite a bit to cover today so thank you advance uh while I go through some detailed information here first of all let me address the ongoing situation in the Middle East and the Department of Defense response and then I'll discuss the reports of drone attacks against us facilities in Iraq and Syria as you are all aware secretary Austin recently directed several steps to strengthen DOD posture in the region to bolster Regional deterrence efforts to include deploying the USS Ford carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean along with the USS Eisenhower currently underway and in route additionally we are also enhancing our fighter aircraft presence in the Central Command region to provide additional capabilities by posturing these US 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 to that end the crew of the guided missile destroyer USS Carney operating in the northern Red Sea earlier today shot down three land attack cruise missiles and several drones that were launched by houthi forces in Yemen this action was a demonstration of the integrated air and missile defense architecture that we have built in the Middle East and that we are prepared to utilize when never necessary to protect our partners and our interests in this important region there were no casualties to US forces and none that we know of to any civilians on the ground information about these engagements is still being processed and 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 towards Targets in Israel our defensive response was one that we would have taken for any similar threat in the region where we're able to do do so against our interest personnel and our partners this attack may be ongoing so if we have more information to share we will but again as the secretary has made clear we have the capability to defend our broader interests in the region and to deter Regional escalation and broader expansion of the conflict that began with hamas's attack on Israeli CI civilians on October 7th the crew of the carne did just that and across the force we will remain Vigilant to any other potential threats and while on the topic of threats let me provide an update on the reports of several drone attacks against us facilities in Iraq and Syria early yesterday morning Syria time October 18th The utop Garrison in Syria was targeted by two drones us and Coalition forces engaged one drone destroying it while the other drone impacted the base resulting in minor injuries to Coalition forces also the same morning in Iraq early Warning Systems indicated a possible threat approaching the airbase at Assad and base Personnel sheltered in place as a protective measure though no attack occurred sadly a US civilian contractor suffered a cardiac episode while Sheltering and passed away shortly thereafter and our deepest sympathies and condolences are with the loved one loved ones of the individual who passed away and as you know the day before on October 17th US military forces defended against three drones near us and Coalition forces in Iraq in Western Iraq at all Assad Airbase US forces engage two drones destroying one and damaging the second resulting in minor injuries to Coalition forces separately in Northern Iraq US forces engaged and destroyed a drone near Basher Airbase resulting in no injuries or damage and while I'm not going to forecast any potential response to these attacks I will say that we will take all necessary actions to defend us and Coalition forces against any threat any response should one occur will come at a time in a manner of our choosing now in light of all of this activity secretary Austin continues to actively engage with his counterparts and leaders within the Middle East today he conducted a series of calls which included discussions With His Highness president shik Muhammad bin Zed of the United Arab Emirates Amir shik tamim of Qatar and Saudi Arabia Minister of Defense khed bin Salman Al secretary Austin also spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense yob Galant just a few moments ago and during these calls he reiterated us support for Israel's right to defend itself from terrorist attacks and also underscored the importance of safeguarding innocent civilians both Palestinian and Israeli he emphasized again that any country or any group thinking about trying to take advantage of the situation in Israel to try to widen the conflict should think twice and not doubt the resolve of the United States it is our aim to avoid any Regional expansion of Israel's conflict with Hamas but we stand ready and prepared to protect and defend our partners and our interests and we will act to do so readouts of these calls will be posted to the dod website later today and with respect to us support to Israel the first shipments of military aid including Munitions began arriving in Israel last week and continue to arrive on a near daily basis this assistance is comprised of capabilities requested by Israel to include Precision guided Munitions such as joint direct attack Munitions small diameter bombs 155 mm artillery ammunition and other categories of critical equipment in addition Iron Dome interceptors from stocks that the United States has in country have been quickly provided to Israel and in the days ahead will we be flowing additional Iron Dome interceptors so that Israel has the capabilities they need to to sustain their Iron Dome defense systems and protect their C citizens and cities from rocket attacks we will leverage several Avenues available to us to include our stocks and Industry channels that reinforce the United States unwavering and Ironclad support for both the Israeli Defense Forces and the Israeli people as always the Department of Defense will continue to support plan and undertake these critical missions professionally and with the inherent right to protect our force and with that I will be happy to take your questions we'll start with ap tarot thank you General Ryder could you also talk about uh apparently there's a new round of attacks Al Assad that is occurring either now or has happened today do you have any information on that yeah thanks Tara um I've seen some reporting on that uh I don't have any details to provide right now but certainly uh as more information becomes available we'll pass that along and then more generally as this violence has uptick since the hospital bombing um what protection measures are you taking particularly like for the forces in onom where there's been so much activity over the years as Fighters have tried to move weapons and people toward hisa yeah certainly uh we take Force protection extremely seriously uh and we will continue to do so I'm not going to get into specific Force protection me measures other than uh again when we have forces In Harm's Way we're going to look at all possible uh efforts to ensure that they uh remain safe and are able to to stay focused on their on their mission so this is something that we'll continue to monitor um but again um we are going to take Force protection very seriously but can you say like you've strengthened or taken additional Force protection measures and are you seeing more activity more drone activity like in the last couple days than you have you know for the last few months and we are certainly taking appropriate Force protection measures to to ensure the safety of our troops uh again I'm not going to get into specifics uh clearly uh this is an uptick in terms of the types of drone activity we've seen uh in Iraq and Syria um but again um yeah I was s b at that thank you Jeff hi sir this is a sensitive question there's a lot of talk among uh Special Operations veterans that when President Biden went to Israel he had a picture taken with some service members who look like special operators can the defense department confirm be the White House took this picture down that these were in fact special operators and if so are they uh is there a policy against having special operators have their uh picture taken yeah thanks Jeff i' I'd have to refer you to the White House on that I just don't have any inform to provide thank you let me go here to Dan and then we'll ERS thank you General uh these attacks in Syria and Iraq the Pentagon commonly or often ascribes the blame on those to Iranian back militias or some similar description do you have the sense that's the case here so we're continuing to assess uh the nature of these attacks uh and and that's something that we'll uh continue to look very closely at as you've mentioned uh in the past we have seen Iranian back militia conduct these types of things but as of right now I don't have any specifics to provide more broadly related on Iran do you have any update on whether or not we see um Iran directly tied to the Hamas attack of October 7th um no at this point again uh the information that we have does not show uh a direct connection to the Hamas attacks on October 7th uh as as it relates to Iran again that's something that we'll continue to look closely at all that to say we do know uh as you've heard others say that Iran uh has a significant relationship with Hamas in terms of funding training and support uh and so uh again in that regard they they certainly uh bear some responsibility but again no direct linkage to these attacks and we'll continue to keep an eye on that let me go to Idis just a clarification uh about the USS Carney you said the hand say for certain where or what the missiles were targeting can you say that you do you believe that they were targeting the Carney or do you believe they were not targeting the Carney in this again what I provided at at the top right now is uh is what we know again we'll continue to assess this can you talk about what Neal assets you have in total in the Eastern Med and Red Sea I think that was the the USS Mount Whitney yesterday that when there how many ships do you have in totally in the region right now sure um so I'm not going to provide a laydown of of all of our forces in the region Idris other than to say as you know that the USS Gerald for strike group uh does remain underway in the Eastern Mediterranean um the USS uh mea M Mesa Verde uh is in the Mediterranean as well um we've got as I mentioned at the top the Eisenhower transiting the Atlantic Ocean right now in route to the Eastern Mediterranean uh the Carter Hall and the Baton uh currently remain underway in the Gulf of Aiden I know there's been some questions about that and I'm just going to leave it at that right now yes sir earlier today the state department issue kind kind of a worldwide caution alert for Americans abroad given what we were talking about some of these drone attacks and attacks on other us facilities abro I'm curious is there going to be some sort of blanket warning for US service members and their families are there any fears that these attacks will be more geared towards us service members uh even if not just in the Middle East but more broadly worldwide yeah so I'm I'm not tracking any specific threats uh in that regard obviously as I mentioned earlier we do take Force protection seriously no matter where uh we're serving and so we'll continue to do that no General warning like state did uh again two separate things right in terms of state department and its responsibility to warn US citizens the US military by virtue of our mission wherever we're serving we're going to take appropriate Force protection measures but I'm not right now aware of any specific threats against US service members and their families which is what I think you're you're asking Megan I'm sorry did you have question okay let me go to the phone here real quick let me go to Gordon lold Wall Street Journal yeah hey Pat um just two questions one is on attribution is there any reason to think that uh the perpetrators Behind these attacks are not what they have been in the past I know you're still investigating but I'm just wondering if there's any reason to think there be anything different one and two just to clarify has was there any um American aircraft uh or other property damaged in any of these uh attacks I can't remember if you said it's specifically or not yeah thanks Gordon U so in terms of uh the attribution for these attacks again that's something that we're continuing to look at um and I'm I'm not going to have any information to provide right now uh in terms of the impacts of those taxs beyond what I've provided all right let me go to um Rebecca from BBC hi thanks for taking the question um I wondered if you can confirm or you had any comments on these reports that the IDF has the green lights to has been given the green lights to ENT Gaza um so I I've obviously seen the the Press reports on that I'm not sure what that means uh as as it relates to IDF operations I would refer you to them uh to to talk about their operations thank you let me go to Courtney um The American or the contractor who died of the cardiac event was he or she an American citizen I will get back to on that and then can you say how many drones were shot down and what kind and what did the Carney used to shoot down the the L um cruise missiles and the drones please yeah thanks um so I don't have any information to provide on the specifics in terms of uh what system the carne Ed to take down um so if we're able to make that information available we will um and then in terms of the number of drones I think I kind of laid that out right you said several several yeah that's about as specific as I can get right now okay and then just one other I I think this is ad's question but I may be wrong you said that that you don't see any direct connection to these this up in these recent attacks and to October 7th but I wonder if you see any connection to this uptick because it really this is a a departure from where it's been the past several months if you see any connection to what's to what's happened after October 7th so to the fact that the Israelis are talking about a massive ground Invasion they're already doing these air strikes is it tied to that potentially yeah so so you know the reality is Courtney I I don't want to uh allow my imagination to fill in the gaps uh and and the supposition clearly there our tensions in the region um which is why you see us working so hard right now to make sure that we're keeping lines of communication open with regional leaders uh to make sure that we're sharing information uh and also for actors in the region uh to to understand our message loud and clear about DET turns to prent prevent uh potential miscalculation um again as we continue to look at this and analyze uh the the nature of these attacks uh and uh attribute these tax you know well certainly no more um but that's where we're at right now in the meantime again our focus is going to be continuing to U ensure that we are um deterring a potential Regional broader regional conflict as I mentioned uh and also continuing to to work closely with Israel to ensure they have what they need to defend themselves against future terrorist attacks body thank you General so when you talked about the interception you said this is a demonstration of the integrated uh and missile defense um where other um Nations or uh or Partners in the region um um did they contribute one way or the other to the interception whether through information radar what did you mean by yeah so f as you know I mean we we obviously uh the United States works with a lot of Partners in the region and broadly speaking have integrated air defense capabilities um and so in this particular case uh the USS Carney as I highlighted uh determining this threat was able able to take that threat out and that's about as specific as I can get this was in partnership with other yeah don't have any other information on and then on the U on the hospital um the president as you know mentioned the data from the dod uh to say Israel wasn't uh responsible the IDF used Al jaaz broadcast to make the case that it was a Islamic Jihad uh we did uh a very detailed investigative uh report about that based on our broadcasting um the missile that they claimed it was a Jihad missile was actually intercepted uh 7 minutes before the hospital was targeted uh Channel 4 UK uh they're saying even though there's not a big uh greator if you don't mind just to get to the question my my point is there's lots of questioning of what the president claim and what the Israelis are saying um noting that many Hospital have been targeted civilian and the UN facilities by Israel are you willing to share the data that you have that the president used Let's uh couple things here so first of all uh don't conflate uh other reporting and media reporting with where we're necessarily getting our information from right we we certainly have our own capabilities uh some of which does include open source information um but we have other capabilities uh and and you know as you know the White House put out a statement yesterday on this topic so when it comes to informing our senior leaders um we are using our own information to make those assessments uh and as as you've heard us say right now based on the information that we have um it is our assessment that Israel was not responsible for that that explosion um we're continuing to assess that initial indications are that this was from an errant rocket um that was launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad um but again we're going to continue to assess this and and that's where we're at on this particular uh topic right now um but again just to to reassure you we're not necessarily relying on other reports or media reports to come to those conclusions that wasn't my question my question is is the department because under international law this is a war crime regardless who did it right um so is the department willing to share the data that it has you right now I'm I'm sharing with what we have and uh and that's where right so if we have more to provide we we certainly will but let me yes Laura thank you um just some clarifications um in Syria and Iraq can you say a little bit more about how of how the they took out the drones um and then on the Carney could you give more specifics on where the intercept took place was it over land or oversea sure uh so my understanding uh on the on the ladder uh and again you know we'll have more details um potentially in the future here but my understanding was it was over waterer um as far as the uh taking out the drones on not going to get into specifics um other than to say defensive systems on those facilities were able to successfully take those drones down so not fight not fighter jets this time correct not fighter jets and then just a broader question um just given all the assets that have been sent to the region for deterrence um and then given these attacks is deterrence working and do you see this as an escalation of the conflict yeah so it's a great question and what I would say is uh it's important again take a step back now first of all these attacks these small scale attacks are clearly concerning and dangerous right and we're going to as I mentioned we're going to do everything necessary to ensure that we're protecting our forces uh and and if and when we choose to respond we'll do so at a time of our choosing um but if you step back and look again at what our broader strategic aim here which is to T toer A broader regional conflict which is why you see us putting additional forces into the theater which gives us more options to respond which is also why you see is continuing to communicate very actively uh with Partners in the region as well as potential uh actors who might want to try to take advantage of this so uh again right now uh this conflict is uh contained between Israel and Hamas uh and we're going to do everything we can to ensure deterrence in the region so that this does not become a broader regional conflict let me go to Tony yeah I was going to if you can square that Circle again somebody while listening in on this is going to think the Middle East is on fire now because of the US helping after October 7th broadly you don't see any connection between these Yemen Syria and Iraq at this point in terms of Iran directing or some great hand directing the attacks again right now I think you have to look at these individually uh again we're taking them seriously and we're responding appropriately obviously uh ensuring that our forces are protected uh but again our focus is on deterring a broader regional conflict and right now uh this conflict is contained between Israel and Hamas uh and we'll continue to work very closely Partners in the region and allies to ensure that we can maintain deter going forward question followup what Advanced aircraft are you talking about and where are the Iron Dome interceptors from the United States coming from are those those from army stocks being flown to Israel uh in terms of the Interceptor ammunition um so uh Tony we'll we'll have a variety of means available to us to include stocks that are already in Israel uh and so again I won't get into specifics on where exactly they're coming from other than we have a variety of of means to to do that uh and then I'm sorry your first question you did say though they were being flown from the United States interceptors foll on iron D Interceptor so I'm just asking are those the Army stocks in terms of the am Interceptor ammunition same thing Interceptor yeah I mean again we have a variety of of sources both us-based and then also coming from within5 so those now being redeployed to the region um and then in terms of advanced fighter aircraft uh just to to clarify in terms of uh F-16 F5s um right now I don't I'm not tracking any f-35s to to read out on the on that front but again if that changes we'll let you know thank you okay thank you time for a few more yes sir you're raising your hand but you're not looking yes sir no yes thank you so I have a couple of questions on Ukraine so there reports that the panagon plans to send Israel artillery shells that were initially designated for Ukraine could you Pride any comments on that um I I don't have any information on that other than to say that that we are confident we can continue to support both Ukraine and Israel in terms of their defensive needs one on attack so could you specify how many missiles has the usas provided for Ukraine are there any conditions on their use on the battlefield any your assessment will they how will they complement Ukrainian abilities sure um so no I can't get into the specifics in terms of the number of attacks uh that we provided but just like all of the other systems and and equipment that we've provided to Ukraine uh it is with the assurances that this will be used within uh Sovereign Ukraine uh to take back and defend Sovereign uh Ukrainian territory quick follow up so Ukrainian primier said that this is not the the free shipment there was a commitment to provide UK more atts for Ukraine the future could you commment on that I don't again we're going to continue to consult with Ukraine our allies and partners to ensure they have what they need to defend themselves against Russia okay let me just go to the phone here real quick Jeff Seldon VA thanks very much for doing this You' spoken a little bit about the military attacks in in the region the Drone attacks missiles launched by the houthi but to what extent is the Pentagon worried about some of the non-military or non uh militant group activity like some of the protests that are looking at us targets embassies uh the you know the bigger concern that maybe there's a coordinated push between kinetic means and and and other people pushing buttons to inflame tensions in the region and then also in the past the Pentagon has been part of the effort to declassify information to push back against narratives like with Russia is the Pentagon pushing for any of the or advocating declassifying information with the bombing at the AL hospital since the narrative that Israel did bomb the hospital has inflamed tension so much yeah thanks Jeff so on your latter question again as I as I mentioned to uh F uh when if we have more information to provide on that we certainly will I just don't have any additional information at this time uh as it relates to the broader middle east region uh and around the world of course we always uh take Safety and Security of our citizens very seriously um we will continue to stay in close consultation with State Department um it it is clearly something we're keeping an eye on we re we recognize that there are tensions right now in the Middle East and throughout the broader region um again I'm not uh tracking any specific information regarding the the specific targeting of um American citizens or US military forces or their families um but again this is something that we will take seriously and do whatever we need to do to ensure their safety thanks very much y why why did the US shoot down these missiles and drones why what was the I mean why why we in the northern Red Sea who were they protecting again I what I read out at the top is what I've got on that courin I don't but I don't think he necessarily addressed it I mean it's it's pretty uncommon I think if I remember correctly there have been cases of the US intercepting some things in like the baba mandad but I don't ever remember them you guys intercepting anything in the northern Red Sea so there must have been a reason something that that the decision was made to protect was it Israel or well again uh as this missile was detected uh and the the decision was made uh that it posed a Potential Threat uh based on its flight profile and so the decision was made to take it down that's threat to Israel or to the this is something this is something we're still assessing did secretary Austin have to um is that a secretary level decision to do that uh not to my knowledge so it's the ship's Commander or I don't have the specifics in terms of who made that authorization but clearly uh we always maintain the inherent right to self-defense uh and so the decision was made to to uh take the shot and they took it you said potentially inside of Israel earli just as as a clarification potentially targets inside of is toward Israel Israel correct was it self-defense or again what I had at the top there is what I have to provide let me go to Mike yeah I want to ask about the hospital issue again a lot of outlets reporting these homas figures that it was several hundred victims uh now AFB is coming out saying it was like 30 to 50 I was wondering the US have any better idea of actually how many casualties there were from it yeah thanks Mike so so the short answer is uh not yet that's something that we're we're looking at um and and like you we've seen numbers all over the map uh so that's another aspect that we're looking at right now thank you sir thanks General um on Tuesday uh the Pentagon announced that uh it was giving the sort of ready to deploy order to around 2,000 troops but that units have not yet been identified have any units out of that those 2,000 rough troops been identified yet yes uh so we have identified units um but what I will tell you is right now we're just not going to go into specifics unless those or those units are actually task to deploy at which time we will be prepared to talk about what those units are are you able to at least say whether those units are State side or okon at the moment I not thanks yes ma'am thank you uh secretary Austin has stressed the need to focus on the uh postwar plan for gavar uh President Biden mentioned the mistakes done by the US after 911 which could be the invasion of Iraq or the strategy is there I don't know if you agree um which caused Improvement in Iran's position um and 2,000 forces ready in the Mediterranean spokesman Kirby told that no intention of to put uh us boots on the ground my question is even though the US tries to limit the damage uh does the Pentagon assess a big war impact in Iran uh Syria even turkey and any preparation of US military presence on the ground in a postwar future scenario in the Middle East again I'm not sure I understand what you're you're asking um the question is even you are trying to limit the damage do you assess a big and large war in the Middle East including Iran Syria and Israel do we assess a big a large War yes that's exactly what we're trying to prevent right I mean that that is uh the United States clearly working with our International allies and partners around the world to ensure Regional stability and security to prevent Regional or prevent conflicts from becoming Regional uh and again um you know like like everyone else all Peace and Freedom loving countries uh we want people to be able to live in peace security and stability uh and we will continue to stay focused on that uh this is a very unfortunate situation right now uh that that we're seeing play out um as Israel tries to defend itself from Hamas terrorist attacks and so we'll continue to stand by the people of Israel uh as they look to defend themselves and their their country but certainly uh when it comes to the broader Middle East no one wants to see this expand into a broader Regional war and we'll continue to work with our allies and partners to to prevent that to happen in this case I'm not going to get into hypotheticals I think you and I would both agree that we certainly would not want to see that all right time for a few more yes sir just real quick wonder if we can clarify the um the nature of the minor injuries by Coalition Personnel sustained in I I cannot other than to say uh in all cases they return to duty just a quick followup um you mentioned that this conflict is assessed to be currently contained between Israel and Hamas the um the attack attacks on the Assad Air Base were claimed by the Islamic resistance in Iraq which is an umbrella term for Iran back groups in Iraq uh the head of katat say Shu uh two weeks ago said that if the Americans intervene in Gaza uh the entire quote axis of resistance will intervene and the entire region will catch fire hadel head of the B organization in Iraq said that uh we will consider Americans legitimate targets if the US intervenes in the Gaza conflict uh Yemen's Hoy leader said a similar comment saying that his side was in total coordination with other IC back groups across the region does the department really see no connection between the Gaza War and what just happened look again it's important to separate uh these attacks from the current situation uh we're going to continue to uh assess attribution on these certainly rhetoric uh from hate groups is not a new thing in the region um we're of course going to take all of that seriously but we're also not going to overreact we're going to continue to do what we need to do to deter conflict uh and ensure uh Regional stability while at the same time supporting Israel okay all right uh last question thanks General um so the state department has released numbers that about 30 at least 30 American citizens died in the initial Hamas attack in Israel do you have any data on whether you know how many of those were combatants like dual citizens fighting with Israel or how many were just tourists or CI us civilians over there yeah I really don't I don't and actually I apologize uh one more from the phone here let me go to James from messenger hi thank you um so if you historically look at any US air strike um that accidentally kills um civilians even if those civilians are collocated with with enemy combatants the US typically takes responsibility for for that incident uh Israel's position has been that in air strikes in Gaza it is not their fault that innocent civilians have been killed in fact it's the fault of Hamas and and I'm wondering where the US stands on that position that Israel is taking yeah thanks James so I'm I'm not going to speak for Israel uh you know I will say and and you've heard secretary Austin say this uh that uh Israel is a professional military it's professionally LED um but this is something that we have been communicating actively um both publicly and privately in terms of the importance of uring uh and as I mentioned in my topper safeguarding civilians both Palestinian uh and Israeli uh as as these operations are planned and so that will continue to be our position thank you something real quick are there any special operations forces in Israel right now um I don't have any specifics uh to provide for you if if your question is do we have Special Operations forces conducting you know boots on the ground operations again you've heard us say uh that we are not going to have uh you know boots on the ground uh but um I don't have anything we are we are providing um planning and intelligence support to the Israelis uh as it pertains to hostage recovery um that's about the extent of of what I'm able to provide right now hey before I'm sorry before we conclude um I just want to uh highlight one other thing um on Tuesday this week uh Miss Laura Cooper the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia Ukraine Eurasia uh was recognized ized as the 2023 Samuel J Heyman federal employee of the year award winner uh and since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine uh Deputy assistant secretary defense Cooper and her team have led the response by the US and a coalition of some 50 countries to secure critical military aid for Ukraine at an unprecedented Pace also known as the Oscars of government service the samies are the Premier Awards and recognition program for federal employees and so on behalf of the Secretary of Defense and the entire DOD we want to congratulate Miss Cooper on this significant professional accomplishment thank you very much ladies and gentlemen

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Length: 34min 2sec (2042 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 19 2023