The Israeli army has acknowledged for the first time a major depletion in its ranks, according to reports citing Israeli media.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was “caught off guard” by the recent Israeli strikes in Syria and on a Catholic church in Gaza, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen toward Israel that triggered sirens across several areas in the country.

Nearly 99 percent of the House voted against an amendment to nix just $500 million in military funding for Israel from the towering $830 billion Pentagon budget bill last week, with just six lawmakers voting for the amendment even as Israel prepares to erect a concentration camp in Gaza to confine Palestinians.

Americans are increasingly skeptical of Israeli actions in Gaza, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS that also finds rising sentiment that the US should pull back on military aid to Israel.

The military told Palestinians to leave an area where many have sought refuge during the 21-month war and warned that it may expand operations.

Syria's Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence triggered by clashes between Bedouin fighters and Druze factions. Earlier on Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area of southern Syria for the next two days.

Syrian interior ministry forces began deploying in Sweida on Saturday under a US-brokered deal intended to avert further Israeli military intervention in the Druze-majority province. Israel had bombed defence ministry forces in both Sweida and Damascus earlier this week to force their withdrawal after they were accused of summary executions and other abuses against Druze