The US is sending additional forces to the Middle East because of a dramatic escalation of violence between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, raising the risk of a major regional war, the Pentagon said.
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder declined to provide details on how many additional forces America is sending or what their mission will be. The US currently has around 40,000 troops in the region.
The new deployment comes after significant attacks by Israeli forces on targets inside Lebanon, in which 492 people were killed. As Israel prepares to carry out further attacks, the State Department is warning Americans to leave Lebanon due to the growing risk of “regional war”.
“Due to the unpredictable nature of the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel and recent explosions throughout Lebanon, including Beirut, the U.S. Embassy urges U.S. citizens to depart Lebanon while commercial options still remain available” – the State Department warned on Saturday.
