A Pentagon spokesperson reported that since 17 October there had been “20 attacks in Iraq, eighteen in Syria, a total of 38 of these… essentially what are harassing attacks of drones and rockets”. He also noted an increase in confirmed injuries sustained at al-Tanf on 17 October and Ain al-Assad the following day at 45, adding: “All of these injuries occurred prior to the self-defence strikes that we took on 26 October. To my knowledge, there’s been no injuries reported since then”. “We will make sure that we’re taking any necessary actions to protect our forces”, the spokesperson asserted, adding: “[Our goal] is to deter a broader regional conflict. And right now, today, the conflict is contained to Gaza and Israel and their fight against Hamas”.