The United States is sending troops to the Middle East in response to rising violence between Israel and Hezbollah as the region teeters on the brink of all-out war.
The Pentagon announced Monday that “additional” military personnel would be deployed to join the 40,000 already stationed in the region, along with a dozen warships and squadrons of fighter jets.
Israel has stepped up its airstrikes inside Lebanon and the State Department has warned all Americans to leave as the risk of conflict rises to levels not seen in years.
Tensions have reached a boiling point over the past seven days and began to deteriorate when pagers and walkie talkies owned by Hezbollah members were blown up in a coordinated attack last week.
Devastating Israeli airstrikes killed at least 100 people and wounded 400 others in Lebanon on Monday, as IDF warplanes bombed targets across the country.
Terrified residents in Beirut and elsewhere received calls and text messages warning them to stay away from Hezbollah targets, with Lebanon’s information minister condemning the alerts as a “psychological warfare tactic deployed by the enemy.”
Schools have closed early during the heavy attacks that have prompted calls for international intervention.
The United States is sending troops to the Middle East in response to rising violence between Israel and Hezbollah and as the region teeters on the brink of all-out war. Some waves from the Lebanese village of Zaita after an Israeli attack
The Biden administration has warned Israel that escalation is not in its best interest and still wants a diplomatic solution.
“In light of rising tensions in the Middle East, and out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional U.S. military personnel to augment our forces already in the region,” said Press Secretary Gen. Pat Ryder.
Ryder did not confirm how many troops would be deployed or where they would go.
“Due to the unpredictable nature of the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel and the recent explosions across Lebanon, including in Beirut, the U.S. Embassy urges American citizens to leave Lebanon while business options are still available,” the State Department warned on Saturday.
The number of troops deployed to the US Central Command increased from 34,000 to 40,000 following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7.
The Navy’s warships are scattered throughout the region and anchored in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Oman.
Lebanon’s prime minister has accused Israel of waging “a war of extermination” and called on the United Nations to intervene “to deter (Israeli) aggression.”
Huge plumes of smoke have been photographed in several locations, with rockets fired into areas previously unhit by attacks and witnesses reporting intense shelling.
Smoke rises from Israeli shelling on villages in the Nabatiyeh district, as seen from the southern town of Marjayoun
Plumes of smoke rise over southern Lebanon following Israeli strikes, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Tyre
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant confirmed the Israel Defense Forces were “stepping up” attacks in Lebanon and suggested the situation would escalate, warning in a video message: “These are days when the Israeli public will have to show composure.”
Gallant further revealed on X This Morning that he provided his American counterpart with “a situational assessment of Hezbollah threats and briefed him on IDF operations to degrade Hezbollah’s ability to launch attacks against Israeli civilians.”
He added that the broader regional security situation and “threats posed by Iran and its proxies” were also discussed.
The Israel Defense Forces issued a warning to residents of villages in southern Lebanon: ‘If you are inside or near a building that Hezbollah uses to store weapons or armaments, you must evacuate that building and move away from it immediately.
A Lebanese man checks a message received on his mobile phone in Beirut on September 23, 2024, calling on people to evacuate areas “where Hezbollah hides its weapons.”
A man picks up students after some schools closed early, in Beirut, Lebanon
“Anyone who is near Hezbollah operatives or the organization’s weapons is at risk.”
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati denounced Israel’s “destructive plan” at a cabinet meeting this morning.
“The continued Israeli aggression against Lebanon is a war of extermination in every sense of the word and a destructive plan that aims to destroy Lebanese towns and cities,” he said.
He urged “the United Nations, the General Assembly and influential countries… to deter (Israeli) aggression.”