Overview
- Hegseth said he fully supported Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley’s decision on a follow-up strike and stated he would have made the same call.
- The campaign has reportedly destroyed 23 vessels and left at least 87 people dead.
- Legal scrutiny has intensified because killing shipwrecked survivors can constitute a war crime under the Pentagon’s law-of-war manual.
- Hegseth denied issuing a directive to kill everyone on board, while congressional briefings indicated he wanted lethal attacks and was told of survivors only after they were killed.
- The Pentagon is reviewing whether to release the operation video, diverging from Trump’s earlier comment that it would “certainly” be made public, as Senate Armed Services leaders pledge oversight.