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A US Special Operations drone strike in Baghdad killed a senior leader of Kata'ib Hezbollah, a militia that US officials blame for recent attacks on US personnel, the Pentagon said.

A senior official from Kata'ib Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary Guards both said two commanders had been killed in the attack. A spokesman for Iraqi security forces said the attack “violated Iraqi sovereignty and risked dangerous repercussions in the region.”

Kata'ib Hezbollah, based in Iraq, is considered a proxy of Iran. The US considers the group a terrorist organization. A drone strike that officials attributed to the group killed three U.S. service members in Jordan in late January, prompting President Biden to launch a campaign of retaliation.

U.S. officials have said they are focused on reducing militia arsenals and deterring attacks on U.S. forces without starting a broader war in the Middle East.

Analysis: National security experts and officials say privately that to truly reduce the capabilities of Iran-backed militias, the U.S. would need to wage a years-long campaign similar to the six-year effort to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Related: Iraq has allowed both US and Iranian-backed forces to operate on its territory, creating a delicate balance that is becoming increasingly precarious.

Senate Republicans blocked a bill to tie tens of billions of dollars in aid to Israel and Ukraine to strict border security measures, torpedoing a compromise they had demanded before Donald Trump vociferously opposed the bill.

Democrats tried to save the aid by advancing a stand-alone foreign aid bill stripped of the immigration measures. But the vote was postponed as some Republican senators demanded border changes — just hours after voting to kill the relief package that included those changes.

Despite the delay, there were glimmers of hope that the aid package would eventually make progress, a remarkable turnaround after months of gridlock. Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and Senate Majority Leader, said the chamber would hold a vote today.

Quotable: “Republicans have said they cannot pass through Ukraine without borders. Now they say they cannot cross Ukraine through the border. Today I am giving them a choice,” Schumer said, adding: “I urge Republicans to take yes for an answer.”

Analysis: Officials said the collapse of U.S. aid to Ukraine was a real possibility, but they were focused on passing a bipartisan aid package.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a Hamas ceasefire proposal, dashing hopes for a lull in violence in Gaza.

He also said that Israel had ordered its forces to prepare for an operation in Rafah, a city on Gaza's border with Egypt – and a refuge for more than a million Palestinians, more than half of the entire population of the Gaza Strip. area.

According to a Lebanese daily with access to people familiar with the plan, Hamas's proposal called for Israeli forces to eventually leave Gaza altogether and Israel to release the captured Palestinians. In return, Hamas would release some of the roughly 100 hostages it still holds.

Israeli officials said a major obstacle to Hamas' plan was the demand that Israeli forces withdraw completely from Gaza.

“There is no other solution than total victory,” Netanyahu said.

You could call it the great curry clash: two families in India argue over who invented butter chicken, the heavenly marriage of tandoori chicken and tomato gravy, beloved wherever North Indian food is served.

Money and the legacy of a legendary restaurant are at stake after one family took another to court over the origins of the dish. But foodies may not care about the details, as long as the dish tastes good.

Lives lived: Aston Barrett created hypnotic rhythms as bassist and musical director of Bob Marley and the Wailers. He died at the age of 77.

A humiliating defeat: South Korea's luck finally ran out when it lost to Jordan in the Asian cup.

Capitalizing on fake news: Tracking down the people who make money from disinformation about Manchester United.

A new name and a fresh start: Stakethe Formula 1 team formerly known as Alfa Romeo is trying to stop its long road with a makeover.

The Eurovision Song Contest, in which singers from dozens of countries compete in front of tens of millions of viewers, is not an obvious proxy for war. But as civilian casualties in Gaza have risen, there are increasing calls for Israel to be excluded from this year's competition.

Several prominent artist-led campaigns argue that recent decisions to exclude Russia and Belarus set a precedent and that Israel should be exposed for human rights abuses. Eurovision officials reject these comparisons, but when Eden Golan, the 20-year-old Israeli newcomer, takes part, many voters will likely think of more than just her singing.

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