Lloyd Austin News

Los Angeles plunged into its worst natural disaster in decades as wildfires driven by hurricane-strength wind gusts tore through prosperous neighborhoods, killed at least five people and forced more than 100,000 residents to flee.

Israel Defence Minister Israel Katz told his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin in a phone call on Wednesday there was now a chance for a new deal that would allow the return of all the hostages, including U.S. citizens, Katz's office said. A Western diplomat in the region, however, said a deal was taking shape, but it would likely be limited in scope, involving the release of only a handful of hostages and a short pause in hostilities.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has met with officials in Japan to reaffirm the importance of their alliance and Washington's commitment to regional security as threats rise from China and North Korea

Lloyd Austin recently spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant to explore opportunities for de-escalation amidst rising Middle East tensions. Their conversation highlighted the US' support for Israel's security, particularly in the face of threats from Iran and Iranian proxies. Sharing a post on X, Austin wrote, «I spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant today to discuss opportunities for regional de-escalation. I reaffirmed that the United States remains fully prepared to defend US personnel, Israel, and partners across the region against threats from Iran and Iran-backed proxies.»

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Several times over the past three months, swarms of as many as 150 Ukrainian drones flew hundreds of miles into Russia, slamming into missile storage facilities, strategic fuel reservoirs, military airfields and defense plants. Once considered exceptional, these deep strikes now barely register in the news.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said there is evidence that North Korea has sent troops to Russia on Monday, and South Korea's spy chief told lawmakers that 3,000 North Korean troops are in the country receiving training on drones and other equipment before being deployed to battlefields in Ukraine. Austin told reporters Wednesday «What exactly they are doing? Left to be seen. These are things that we need to sort out,» according to a video posted by the Washington Post. If the troops join the war in Ukraine on Russia's side, it will be «a very, very serious issue,» Austin said, adding it would have an impact in Europe and in the Indo-Pacific region. South Korean intelligence first publicized reports that the Russian navy had taken 1,500 North Korean special warfare troops to Russia last week, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had earlier said his government had intelligence that 10,000 North Korea soldiers were being prepared to join the invading Russian forces.

U.S. military has rushed its advanced anti-missile system to Israel and it is now «in place», Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. THAAD, or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, is a critical part of the U.S. military's layered air defense systems and adds to Israel's already formidable anti-missile defenses. «The THAAD system is in place,» Austin said, speaking to reporters before his arrival in Ukraine on Monday.

Israel scale back some of its strikes in and around the Lebanese capital of Beirut, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday, adding the number of civilian casualties was «far too high.» Austin's comments came hours after Israel carried out heavy strikes on several locations in the city's southern suburbs, leaving thick plumes of smoke wafting over the city horizon throughout the evening. Israel said it struck arms facilities belonging to Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. Tens of thousands of people have fled the southern suburbs — once a densely populated zone that also housed Hezbollah offices and underground installations — since Israel began regular strikes there about three weeks ago.

underground bunkers used by Yemen's Houthi rebels, officials said. It wasn't immediately clear what damage was done in the strikes. However, it is incredibly rare for the B-2 Spirit to be used in the strikes targeting the Houthis, who have been attacking ships for months in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. HARROWING FOOTAGE of limbs attached to intravenous drips inside burning hospital tents in Deir al-Balah in Gaza on October 14th was a reminder that the war there—one of several fronts Israel has been fighting on since Hamas massacred 1,200 people a year ago—is far from over. Although the world’s focus is on Lebanon and a possible Israeli retaliation against Iran, the horror in Gaza continues.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote to Israeli officials on Sunday demanding concrete measures to address the worsening situation in the Palestinian enclave amid a renewed Israeli offensive in northern Gaza, U.S. officials said on Tuesday. Failure to do so could impact U.S. policy, said the letter, which was first reported by Israeli News 12.

Iran has accused the United States of being «complicit» in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and Lebanon, alleging that the strikes used US-supplied bunker buster bombs on residential areas in Beirut. The US has denied any prior knowledge of the attacks. Reports indicate that the Israeli airstrikes aimed at Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, significantly damaged six buildings. Communications with Nasrallah were lost following the strikes. Nonetheless, sources close to Hezbollah and Iranian news agencies report that Nasrallah is alive, with Tehran still verifying his status. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticized the US at the United Nations Security Council, saying, «Just this morning, the Israeli regime used several 5,000-pound bunker busters that had been gifted to them by the United States to hit residential areas in Beirut. One cannot disregard the US complicity in the crime.»

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Hezbollah was scrambling Friday to recover from a week of blows delivered by Israel, including an unusually heavy series of airstrikes across southern Lebanon and attacks that caused electronic devices carried by thousands of the militant group’s members to explode virtually simultaneously across the country. The group is trying to determine whether any of its communications networks are safe as it searches for security gaps and hunts down the possibility of moles in the organization, people familiar with the matter said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A wave of deadly explosions of pagers and other electronic devices carried by militants in Lebanon has sharply heightened Pentagon concern about a potential ground war erupting in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah. Even before the hundreds of widely dispersed detonations Tuesday and Wednesday, U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. TEL AVIV—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political allies vigorously made the case for him to replace his defense minister amid bitter disagreement over the war in Gaza, a move that would deepen the divide between the leader and his security establishment and remove the government’s main advocate of a tighter relationship with the U.S. Sacking Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who has clashed publicly with Netanyahu for months, would have wide-ranging impacts on the country’s multifront war and U.S.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday said he had spoken with his Israeli counterpart to discuss a range of issues in the region, including the ongoing exchanges of fire on the Israel-Lebanon border and the need to finalize a ceasefire deal. In a post on X, Austin said he also discussed the risk of escalation from Iran and Iran-backed groups in the call on Thursday and told Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant that the United States is well postured across the region.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will embark on a four-day visit to the US beginning August 23 to strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. During the visit, Singh will engage in talks with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, focusing on key defence cooperation initiatives, including the procurement of 31 MQ-9B Predator drones, joint manufacturing of Stryker infantry combat vehicles, and the co-production of GE F414 engines in India. The Defence Ministry announced that Singh's visit aims to deepen and broaden the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, in light of the growing momentum in bilateral relations and defence engagements. Officials highlighted the significance of Singh’s meetings, noting that the Indian Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has recently cleared the MQ-9B Predator drone deal with certain amendments, and the Indian Navy’s partnership with HawkEye 360 as part of the QUAD Indo-Pacific Partnership of Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA). “The visit is expected to further deepen and broaden the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership,” the Defence Ministry stated while announcing Singh’s trip to the US from August 23 to 26.

military funding to the Philippines, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday, as Washington boosts ties with Manila in the face of China's growing assertiveness.

Kremlin on Saturday warned the deployment of US missiles in Germany could make European capitals targets for Russian missiles in a repeat of Cold War-style confrontation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke of a «paradox» in which «Europe is a target for our missiles, our country is a target for US missiles in Europe.» «We have enough capacity to contain these missiles but the potential victims are the capitals of these countries,» he said, speaking to Russian state television channel Russia 1.

The US Senate Committee on Armed Services tasked Secretary of Defense Retired General Lloyd Austin on July 9 with exploring the potential applications of blockchain technology for enhancing supply chain management and other national security functions within the US Department of Defense (DOD).