The U.S. will send additional troops to the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah approaches all-out war, the Pentagon said on Monday.
The troops will be accompanied by a dozen war ships and fighter-jet squadrons, the Pentagon said. The announcement came just hours after the IDF carried out a widespread bombing campaign against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, opening what appears to be a new phase of the long-running conflict.
“In light of the increased tensions in the Middle East, and out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional US military personnel forward to augment our forces that are already in the region,” Press Secretary General Pat Ryder said.
“Given the tensions, given the escalation, as I highlighted, there is the potential for a wider regional conflict. I don’t think we’re there yet, but it’s a dangerous situation,” Ryder added.
The U.S. maintains about 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria, primarily tasked with counterterrorism operations. U.S.-controlled military bases also exist in Turkey, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, with a total count of U.S. military personnel in the region numbering around 40,000, up from the 34,000 troops stationed in the Middle East before the October 7 massacre. It’s unclear exactly how many additional troops will be deployed to the region.
Israeli strikes in Beirut on Monday left 274 dead, according to the Lebanese authorities, as Jerusalem continued targeting Hezbollah leadership throughout Lebanon. The Israeli military reported that it struck 800 targets in pursuit of Hezbollah weapons sites.
The Monday bombing campaign, which was preceded by a warning to civilians to evacuate southern Lebanon, suggests Israel is definitively pivoting north after its nearly one-year-long campaign in the Gaza Strip against Hamas. Since October 8, 2023, Hezbollah has launched over 8,000 rockets across Israel’s northern border.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Lebanese civilians to evacuate amid the military exchanges.
“Israel’s war is not with you,” he said. “For too long, Hezbollah has been using you as human shields. It placed rockets in your living rooms and missiles in your garage. Those rockets and missiles are aimed directly at our cities, directly at our citizens.”
“To defend our people against Hezbollah strikes, we must take out these weapons…Don’t let Hezbollah endanger Lebanon,” Netanyahu continued. “Once our operation is finished, you can come back safely to your homes.”
The State Department warned American citizens to evacuate Lebanon over the weekend amid the escalating violence.
“Due to the unpredictable nature of 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 said Saturday. Ryder would not say if those additional forces might support the evacuation of those citizens if needed.
Hezbollah always represented a far more dangerous threat to Israel and is widely acknowledged to be the most formidable non-state militant group in the world. Hezbollah general-secretary Hassan Nasrallah claims to have 100,000 fighters at his disposal and an excess of 150,000 warheads. The CIA estimates Hezbollah’s fighting force to be closer to 45,000 but with a direct supply line to Iran via Syria and Iraq, few doubt the terror group’s missile arsenal.
Israel’s Channel 12 quoted a senior Israeli official saying, “What Hezbollah hasn’t understood through force, it will understand through more force.”