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The US has warned that American troops and personnel in the Middle East are at risk of a “significant escalation” of attacks against them as the war between Israel and Hamas threatens to escalate into a regional conflict.
Lloyd Austin, the US defense secretary, said on Sunday he was “concerned about a possible escalation” of fighting in the region.
The US fears that the war between Israel and Hamas, which began on October 7 when the Palestinian militant group launched attacks that killed more than 1,400 people in southern Israel, is drawing Iran-backed militants across the Middle East becomes.
Last week, militants attacked two military bases in Iraq where American troops were stationed. The U.S. has about 2,500 troops in Iraq, where Iran-backed militants have emerged as the dominant military and political force, and about 900 in Syria, which is also home to Iran-backed Shiite militias.
Washington has ordered all non-emergency U.S. government employees and family members to leave Iraq; The State Department justified the order with “increased security threats to U.S. government personnel and interests.”
A US Army Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery is deployed to the Middle East © DVIDS/AFP via Getty ImagesAustin said the US had a “right to defend itself” and would send more air defense systems to the Middle East, including a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and additional Patriot air defense systems.
The U.S. also diverted one of two aircraft carrier strike groups that had been ordered to head to the eastern Mediterranean. Instead, it will be relocated to the Persian Gulf. In addition to the 2,000 soldiers already approved, additional troops were put on standby. There are also 2,000 Marines in the region.
“If any group or country tries to expand this conflict, they are taking advantage of this very unfortunate situation that we are seeing. We advise you not to do this,” Austin said.
Both Israel and the United States are concerned about increasing shelling of Israel’s northern border by Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese group that fought a 34-day war with the Jewish state in 2006.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hezbollah that it would be making the “mistake of a lifetime” if it decided to enter the war.
“We will attack it with a force that cannot even be imagined and the consequences for the country and the Lebanese state will be devastating,” he said during a visit to the country’s northern border. In a sign of Israel’s concern over fighting in the north, officials also asked residents of 14 other communities in the region to evacuate.
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Hezbollah’s deputy, Naim Qassem, said on Saturday the group was “in the heart of the battle” and warned that Israel would pay a heavy price if it launched a ground offensive in Gaza.
Hezbollah said five of its fighters were killed on Saturday, the highest number in a single day since hostilities began two weeks ago, bringing the total to 23.
“We are trying to weaken the Israeli enemy and let them know that we are ready,” Qassem said. Acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Sunday he “will not hesitate to make every effort to protect Lebanon.”
Meanwhile, Israel stepped up its bombardment of the Gaza Strip over the weekend ahead of an expected ground offensive and renewed calls for Palestinians to evacuate to the south of the besieged coastal strip. The Israeli military also said that one of its tanks “accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post” near the southern border, expressing its “dismay” over the incident and adding that it was being investigated.
Aid workers said the situation in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas and is home to 2.3 million people, was becoming increasingly dangerous. More than 4,700 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since the war began, Palestinian health authorities said on Sunday.
While a small aid convoy was allowed into Gaza on Saturday, the United Nations said the 20 truckloads represented only “a fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege.” According to the World Food Program, another 17 trucks arrived on Sunday.
Aid workers said there were cases of illnesses caused by poor sanitation conditions and the consumption of dirty water, and warned that these cases were likely to increase if water and sanitation facilities were not provided and fuel or power supply is not operational again.
On Sunday, the United Nations Palestinian Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) said fuel not delivered in the first humanitarian convoy was running out and without it aid would not be able to reach civilians “in urgent need.”
On Saturday, a small aid convoy was allowed to enter Gaza for the first time since the fighting began © Ahmad Salem/BloombergAccording to the United Nations, almost a million people have been forced to leave their homes in Gaza since October 7th.
Tensions have also increased in the occupied West Bank. On Sunday, Israel launched an airstrike on a mosque in Jenin that was located on what the Israeli military and internal security service Shin Bet described as a Hamas and Islamic Jihad “terror compound.” Two people were killed, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
That followed one of Israel’s deadliest attacks in the occupied West Bank in years, which killed at least 13 Palestinians, including five children, in the Nur Shams refugee camp last week. The Israeli military described this as an “anti-terror” operation.