Five Things to Know, Oct. 30, 2023

1.   Israeli troops and armor pushed deeper into northern and central Gaza on Monday, as the U.N. and medical staff warned that airstrikes are hitting closer to hospitals where tens of thousands of Palestinians have sought shelter alongside thousands of wounded. Video obtained by the Associated Press showed an Israeli tank and bulldozer in central Gaza blocking the territory’s main north-south highway, which the Israeli military earlier told Palestinians to use to escape the expanding ground offensive.

2.   Over 130 U.S., South Korean and Australian aircraft began large-scale airpower drills this week to improve their teamwork, three days after U.S. and South Korean soldiers concluded a ground and air exercise. Vigilant Defense, a five-day exercise that kicked off Monday, is taking place throughout South Korea with 25 types of aircraft, including U.S. F-35B Lightning IIs and F/A-18 Hornets, and South Korean F-35As and E-737 airborne early warning and control aircraft, according to a Ministry of National Defense news release Saturday.

3.   The Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group arrived in the Mediterranean Sea on Saturday after passing through the Strait of Gibraltar on its way to the Middle East. The carrier strike group’s passage into the wider region comes as the U.S. works to stabilize the Middle East while it supports Israel and protects American service members under attack in Iraq and Syria, according to the Pentagon.

4.   The National Guard is behind paying at least 9,000 soldiers the bonuses they were promised for signing up, according to a service component source with direct knowledge of the situation, with some soldiers and their families telling Military.com that payments have been missing for years. The delays are so severe that Guard officials are tracking an additional 3,900 soldiers who completed their service and left the military without getting any bonus payment, though some may have lost eligibility.

5.   A new benefit is coming to military families — the Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account, which will start on Jan. 1. However, service members must take action during the federal benefits open season in order to enroll in the program. The flexible spending account, announced by Department of Defense officials earlier this year, helps defray the cost of child care and other dependent care by providing tax savings. Many military families have long faced difficulties in finding affordable, quality child care, and the pandemic has exacerbated the problem, with lasting effects on availability.