The Pentagon announced the deployment of additional troops to the Middle East in response to the “sharp increase in violence” between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the information was transmitted by press secretary Major General Pat Ryder on Monday (23).
The decision was made by the United States due to the increased risk of a regional war, but there are no details on how many additional forces would be needed or what they would be tasked with doing in the region. Washington currently maintains about 40,000 troops in the Middle East.
A routine Pentagon operation departed on Monday for the Mediterranean, with an aircraft carrier, two destroyers and a cruiser, opening up the possibility of the American Defense Department keeping them in the region if there is an even greater escalation of violence between the parties.
“In light of heightened tensions in the Middle East and out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional U.S. troops to augment our existing forces in the region. However, for operational security reasons, I will not comment or provide specifics,” the Pentagon press secretary said in the announcement.
On Monday, the Israeli military said it had struck around 800 targets of the Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah in southern and eastern Lebanon, in what was considered Tel Aviv’s biggest attack since the start of the aggression with the Iran-sponsored militia.
The death toll from Monday’s Israeli bombings of several locations in Lebanon now stands at 274, while the number of injured exceeds 1,000, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health announced.
The army said on Monday it had detected around 165 rockets fired from Lebanon towards Israel, most of them aimed at the north of the country, including the city of Haifa, where schools have been suspended.
Israel has asked residents of the southern areas and the Beqaa Valley, Hezbollah strongholds, to leave their homes if they are near buildings used by the Shiites to store weapons.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had already spoken on Sunday night (22) with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to receive updated information on the escalation of attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Austin emphasized, at the time, the importance of finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict, which worsened with the new exchange of attacks.
Spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement Sunday that the Pentagon chief “expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself as Hezbollah escalates its attacks deeper into the country and stressed the importance of finding a path to a diplomatic solution that allows residents on both sides of the border (between Lebanon and Israel) to return to their homes as quickly and safely as possible.”
Austin also called for progress on a ceasefire in Gaza that would see the return of hostages held by Hamas, negotiations on which Washington is hesitant and which appear to be stalled due to reluctance on both sides in the conflict.
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