US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin started 2024 in the worst possible way: On New Year's Day, he was admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington due to complications from a recent medical procedure. Austin spent the entire week in the hospital and was in intensive care for four days. However, the Pentagon only announced all of this after the emergency was over, after Austin's discharge from the intensive care unit. A communication choice that is causing debate in the US media and on social media. The American defense chief's hospitalization came in an explosive (literally) week for the Middle East, as Israel killed Hamas No. 2 Saleh al Arouri in an (unconfirmed) raid on Beirut on Tuesday, an attack that ISIS has blamed on pilgrim believers claimed the grave of Qassem Soleimani in Iran on Wednesday and a long series of attacks and provocations by the Hotuhi, including against US targets, in the Red Sea. The Pentagon would not elaborate on exactly what health problems Austin was dealing with or whether he was hospitalized on Monday. However, he admitted that he was unable to carry out his duties for days and that his deputy, Kathleen Hicks, who was on holiday, took his place and was “ready to take his place at any time”. According to a spokesman, Austin began following the department's current files again on Friday evening, although he was still in the hospital on Saturday.
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