Five Things to Know, Nov. 13, 2023

1.   Five U.S. service members were killed when their aircraft went down during a training mission in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, the U.S. military said Sunday. The mishap occurred during a routine air refueling operation on Friday evening, U.S. European Command said in a statement. Search and rescue efforts began immediately after the incident and involved U.S. aircraft and ships operating in the area, EUCOM said.

2.   The United States and South Korea on Monday updated a bilateral security agreement with the aim of more effectively countering North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats. The move followed high-level military talks in Seoul, where the allies also discussed enhancing three-way defense exercises with Japan and improving information-sharing on North Korean missile launches.

3.   The U.S. military conducted airstrikes on two locations in eastern Syria involving Iranian-backed groups, hitting a training location and a weapons facility, according to the Pentagon and U.S. officials. It marks the third time in a bit more than two weeks that the U.S. has retaliated against the militants for what has been a growing number of attacks on bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria.

4.   The top U.S. military officer said Friday he has conveyed to China his hopes to resume the stalled communication between the world’s two biggest militaries. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown Jr., told a selected group of journalists Friday in Tokyo that it is “hugely important” to “ensure there is no miscalculation” between the sides. He said he conveyed his desire to restart the dialogue in a letter to his Chinese counterpart.

5.   Battles around hospitals have forced thousands of Palestinians to flee from some of the last shelters in northern Gaza while stranding critically wounded patients, including newborns, and their caregivers with dwindling supplies and no electricity, health officials said Monday.