The US is sending a small number of additional troops to the Middle East in response to a sharp spike in violence between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon that has raised the risk of a greater regional war, the Pentagon said Monday. Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, would not say how many more forces would be deployed or what their assignments will be, the AP reports. The US now has about 40,000 troops in the region. One US official told the New York Times that the troops sent will number in the dozens and will help protect Americans already stationed there.
On Monday, the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, two Navy destroyers and a cruiser set sail from Norfolk, Virginia, headed to the Sixth Fleet area in Europe on a regularly scheduled deployment. The ships' departure opens up the possibility that the US could keep both the Truman and the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is in the Arabian Gulf, in the region in case more violence breaks out. The new deployments come after significant strikes by Israeli forces against targets inside Lebanon that have killed hundreds and as Israel is preparing to conduct further operations.
The US has "concrete ideas" for restoring calm along the Israel-Lebanon border that it will present to allies and partners this week on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly gathering of world leaders, a senior State Department official said Monday, per the AP. The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss the private diplomatic efforts, said the US and numerous other countries were eager to present an "off-ramp" to help Israel and Hezbollah reduce tensions and prevent an all-out war.
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