Critics have offered a fact-check on Vice President Kamala Harris’ claim that the U.S. has “not one member of the United States military who is on active duty” in a combat zone “for the first time this century,” indicating that the statement is misleading.

Harris made the claim in Tuesday’s debate with former President Trump. While her phrasing left room for interpretation, it is clear that there are U.S. troops in harm’s way around the globe.

“As of today, there is not one member of the United States military who is on active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world, the first time this century,” Harris said during the Presidential Debate on ABC. 

The Pentagon told Fox News Digital service that members are stationed in various dangerous locations but noted that those deployments are made by the Executive Branch and not due to wars declared by Congress.

“An aspect of military service includes serving in locations where hostile actions may occur,” a Defense Official said. “Those locations are designated by executive order and/or the Secretary of Defense.”

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“However, it’s important to note that just because a service member is in one of these locations does not mean they are engaged in war,” the official added. “The U.S. is not currently engaged in a war and does not have troops fighting in active war zones anywhere in the world.”

Mark Montgomery, senior director for the Center on Cyber and Tech Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy, told Fox News Digital that the U.S. has “quietly shut down designations of war zones over the past few years.”

“I would ask: Is anyone getting combat-related hazardous duty pay?” Montgomery added. “The answer is yes,” and noted Syria as an example.

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The Pentagon did not comment on whether troops in countries such as Syria, Jordan or Iraq or on other bases around the Middle East have received hazardous duty pay over the past 10 months as Iran has backed proxies including the Houthis and Hezbollah. 

A transfer case is unloaded during the dignified transfer ceremony of the remains of three U.S. service members killed in the drone attack on the U.S. military outpost in Jordan, at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on February 2, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

Hazardous Duty Pay is distributed at a monthly rate of $225 and is payable to a member who is subjected to hostile fire, explosion of hostile mines or other hostile action while performing duty in a hostile fire area, exposed to a hostile fire event or killed, injured or wounded by hostile fire or explosion, according to Military.com.

Military members serving in Lebanon have been eligible for hazardous duty pay since 1983, while those in Syria have been eligible since 2003 and 2014 for land and air combat, respectively. Iraq has remained an eligible region since 1990. 

Robert Greenway, former senior director for the National Security Council (NSC) during the Trump administration, noted that the U.S. has “continuously” deployed troops to combat zones since the 1991 Gulf War.

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“The assertion is especially egregious, as she is the current VP and should know that we recently conducted a raid in Syria killing a senior ISIS commander, several U.S. troops had to be medically evacuated after another raid against ISIS in Syria,” Greenway told Fox News Digital. “Several servicemembers were wounded in Iraq when Al Asad Airbase was attacked by Iranian sponsored terrorists less than a month ago, and our ships are under near-daily attack in the Red Sea.”

This picture taken on January 4, 2024, shows a view of the headquarters of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) paramilitaries in Baghdad, which was targeted on the same day by a U.S. strike.  (Ahmad al–Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images)

“A current VP unaware of our military operations in combat overseas is a dereliction of duty,” Greenway added. 

The U.S. has roughly 2,500 troops in Iraq alone, although Iraqi officials this week revealed that they have worked out a tentative plan for the U.S. to withdraw most of its troops by 2025 and leave a residual force, The Washington Post reported. 

“The first phase will begin this year and continue until 2025, while the second phase will conclude in 2026,” Iraqi Defense Minister Thabit al-Abbasi said during an appearance on television. 

The Nebraska Supreme Court has set up a major abortion policy showdown for election day, approving two competing ballot measures to go before voters.

One ballot measure, put forward by abortion advocates, would enshrine a fundamental right to abortion “until fetal viability.” The other measure, put forward by abortion opponents, would codify the state’s current 12-week abortion ban into the state’s constitution.

Current Nebraska law allows for exceptions in the case of rape, incest or the life of the mother.

Anti-abortion groups had filed a pair of lawsuits challenging the competing ballot measure, arguing it violated state policy requiring that such measures pertain to only one subject.

The lawsuits argued the ballot measure deals with abortion rights until viability, abortion rights after viability to protect a woman’s health, and whether the state should be allowed to regulate abortion, amounting to three separate issues.

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The state Supreme Court struck down those challenges in a Friday ruling, allowing the measure to appear on ballots.

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Organizers for each ballot measure turned in more than 200,000 signatures supporting them, well over the 123,000 requirements.

The court battle comes as Democrats across the country seek to use abortion as a key issue to outplay Republicans. The effort was on full display during last week’s presidential debate, with Vice President Kamala Harris blasting the end of Roe v. Wade under former President Trump.

Harris argued that Trump would sign a national abortion ban if he is elected in November. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Harris argued Trump would sign a national abortion ban into law if he is elected in November. Trump rejected that claim and instead pointed to ballot measures like the ones now playing out in Nebraska.

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“As far as the abortion ban, no, I’m not in favor of an abortion ban, but it doesn’t matter, because this issue has now been taken over by the states,” Trump said.

“I believe in the exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother,” he said. “I believe strongly in it. Ronald Reagan did also. Eighty-five percent of Republicans knew exceptions are very important,” he said.

Trump argues that abortion laws should be handled by the states, not the federal government. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Many states have adopted ballot measures on abortion since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022. Some, like California, enshrined abortion rights more firmly into law. Others, like Louisiana, paved the way for more restrictions on abortion.

WILKES-BARRE, PA. – A supporter of Vice President Kamala Harris shouted back at several pro-Palestinian protesters who appeared outside the throng lined up to see the Democratic presidential nominee at Wilkes University on Friday.

“Did I hear something about Hamas?” a Harris supporter who later identified himself as Frank from Stroudsburg, Pa., hollered back at a man waving a Palestinian flag and criticizing the protesters. The man was joined by a female protester, whose own remarks preceded his, and about five other people.

“You are a bull—- spreader,” the male pro-Palestinian protester shot back. “You are the cowardly one here. Come show your muscle… Let the people live; that’s what we want.”

The woman had been shouting at the crowd, trying to make the case that there is little daylight between Harris and former President Trump on the issue of the Israel-Gaza conflict and the Jerusalem government’s response to the October 7 terror attack.

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Frank told Fox News Digital after the kerfuffle that he effectively had had enough of the protesters’ invective and had to say something.

“Everybody agrees that the war [in Gaza] is horrible… but they’re complaining about Kamala, who has called for a cease fire.

“[The protesters] are representing the Palestinians, which is fine, but they say nothing about Hamas and the horror that started this whole thing,” Frank added. 

“And they don’t say anything about how Hamas uses the Palestinians as human shields. So, you know, United States has been trying to negotiate a cease fire here for months and months. And the problem is Netanyahu and the right wing of the Israeli government — they don’t even want a two-state solution.”

Frank criticize Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has and will continue engage in indiscriminate bombings of Gazan territory – while underlining additionally that the U.S. made a promise to Israel and should uphold it:

“[America] has a commitment, a long-standing commitment since the year I was born to defend Israel’s right to exist. Hamas’s stated purpose is to end Israel as a state,” he said.

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Frank from Stroudsburg, a support of Vice President Harris, pushed back on pro-Palestinian protesters deriding the rally crowd. (Charlie Creitz/Fox News)

“You know, look, these guys have a perfect right to say whatever they want to say, but it’s a very narrow view of everything; what’s really going on here. And virtually everybody wants peace.”

“Kamala Harris is on record as advocating for a cease fire. So, you know, aim your anger where it might do some good.”

After speaking with Frank, Fox News Digital also caught up with Loai, the male protester who had been jawing with the Harris supporter.

Loai said he was born in Palestinian territory but now lives locally in the Wyoming Valley.

When asked why he and his group are protesting the Harris rally, Loai said the vice president supports “Zionists [and is] supporting Israel.”

Loai added that both Harris and Trump are “essentially” the same on the matter. When asked who he prefers if he had to choose, Loai quipped, “let’s see who is less smelly.”

Loai, one of the pro-Palestinian protesters, said he hails from Palestinian territory but now lives locally in the Wyoming Valley. He and rallygoer Frank engaged in a back and forth, yelling across the street in front of a Harris rally site. (Charlie Creitz/Fox News)

“We want to see the genocide stop,” he added.

Loai said he also “doesn’t care” about Israel – and personally is not calling for its demise, as other protesters have shouted “from the river to the sea” – a phrase connected to calls for the destruction of Israel.

“We don’t care about Israel; that they exist or not. That’s not our business. We are American here. We want this genocide to be stopped. – Wherever they go, they just [need] to get the Hell out of [the Palestinian territory].”

Fox News Digital’s Matteo Cina contributed to this report.