Latest Military and defense News

With the shock of Oct. 7 still raw, profound sadness and anger grip Israel on its Memorial Day

May. 12, 2024 01:40 AM EDT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Ruby Chen’s son, Itay, was killed in the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. But unlike scores of other families of soldiers killed that day, Chen doesn’t have a grave to visit because his son’s remains are held captive in Gaza. The absence of a final resting...

Israel orders new evacuations in Gaza's last refuge of Rafah as it expands military offensive

May. 11, 2024 19:06 PM EDT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza's southern city of Rafah on Saturday, forcing tens of thousands more people to leave as it prepared to expand its military operation deeper into what is considered Gaza’s last refuge, in defiance of growing pressure from close ally...

Sudan’s military fends off an attack by paramilitary forces on a major Darfur city

May. 11, 2024 16:01 PM EDT

CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s military and allied armed groups staved off an attack by a paramilitary group and Arab militias on a major city in the western region of Darfur, officials and residents said Saturday. The attack Friday was the latest by the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces...

Russia says it has captured 5 villages in northeast Ukraine as more than 1,700 civilians flee

May. 11, 2024 13:39 PM EDT

VOVCHANSK, Ukraine (AP) — Moscow's forces captured five villages in a renewed ground assault in northeastern Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday, and Associated Press journalists in the city of Vovchansk described multiple buildings destroyed after Russian airstrikes and barrages...

WWII soldiers posthumously receive Purple Heart medals 79 years after fatal plane crash

May. 10, 2024 22:56 PM EDT

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — The families of five Hawaii men who served in a unit of Japanese-language linguists during World War II received posthumous Purple Heart medals on behalf of their loved ones on Friday, nearly eight decades after the soldiers died in a plane crash in the final days of...

Kansas' governor has killed proposed limits on foreign land ownership

May. 10, 2024 20:12 PM EDT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Proposed restrictions in Kansas on the foreign ownership of land died Friday when the state's Democratic governor vetoed a bill that top Republican lawmakers argued would protect military bases from Chinese spying. The Kansas House's top GOP leader accused Gov....

US announces a new $400 million package of weapons for Ukraine to try to hold off Russian advances

May. 10, 2024 17:16 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. announced a new $400 million package of military aid for Ukraine on Friday, as Kyiv struggles to hold off advances by Russian troops in the northeast Kharkiv region. This is the third tranche of aid for Ukraine since Congress passed supplemental funding...

Ukraine says Russia is trying to break through its defenses in the northeastern Kharkiv region

May. 10, 2024 14:18 PM EDT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine rushed reinforcements to its northeastern Kharkiv region on Friday to hold off a Russian attempt to breach local defenses, authorities said, signaling a tactical switch in the war by Moscow that Ukrainian officials had been expecting for weeks. ...

The Biden-Netanyahu relationship is strained like never before. Can the two leaders move forward?

May. 10, 2024 13:39 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have long managed a complicated relationship, but they're running out of space to maneuver as their views on the Gaza war diverge and their political futures hang in the balance. Their ties have...

Heavy fighting in Gaza's Rafah keeps aid crossings closed and sends 110,000 civilians fleeing

May. 10, 2024 12:23 PM EDT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Heavy fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Rafah has left crucial nearby aid crossings inaccessible and forced more than 110,000 people to flee north, U.N. officials said Friday. With...