U.S. pressures Israel after hostage deaths; warships fend off Houthi drones in expanding conflict

Israel faced growing pressure Sunday to scale back its relentless military campaign against Hamas while American warships once again clashed with Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, as the U.S. and its allies raced to contain multiple interconnected conflicts raging across the Middle East.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin traveled to Israel over the weekend and privately pressed the government to more precisely define its goals in the Gaza Strip and to offer clear metrics for how and when it can shift to the next phase of the campaign.

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and German Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock publicly called for a “sustainable cease-fire” in the Israel-Hamas war. They underscored the rapidly rising global sentiment that it is time for Israel to change course. That sentiment strengthened after Israeli troops mistakenly killed three Hamas-held hostages in Gaza on Friday.