"US Launches Retaliatory Airstrikes in Middle East Amid Escalating Tensions: Live Updates"

The US has launched retaliatory strikes on Iranian-linked militia targets in Iraq and Syria in response to a drone strike in Jordan that killed three American soldiers, while Israel focuses on the southernmost Gaza city of Rafah amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. UNICEF reports at least 17,000 children in Gaza are unaccompanied or separated from their parents, with nearly all children needing mental support. US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, rebuffed a Gaza ceasefire resolution, emphasizing ongoing diplomatic efforts and the need for more aid to Gaza. President Biden attended a dignified transfer ceremony for the soldiers killed in Jordan, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will depart on his fifth trip to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas conflict. Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders discuss a potential hostage deal and ceasefire, while more than 800 US and European officials criticize Western policy toward Israel and Gaza. UNICEF estimates that almost all children in Gaza now require mental health and psychological support, with one girl, Razan, facing severe distress after losing her family in a bombing.