Beirut. The Lebanese Hezbollah declared that it “attacked” Israeli soldiers “on the move” near the Lebanese border on the night of Monday to Tuesday (local time) and a source close to that group specified that the soldiers were “on the border.”
Hezbollah claimed that it “attacked enemy soldiers on the move” in front of Adaiseh and Kfarkila. The United States earlier announced that Israel was conducting “limited” ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
US sends “a few thousand” more soldiers to the Middle East
The United States will send “a few thousand” soldiers to the Middle East to reinforce security and defend Israel if necessary, the Pentagon reported this Monday, after learning that the Israeli government has already launched limited incursions across the border with Lebanon.
The additional forces would bring the total number of troops in the region to 43,000.
The increase will include several squadrons of fighters and attack aircraft, said Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman. US officials said the total also includes a small number of additional troops to augment the presence.
The measure was adopted following the recent attacks in Lebanon and the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, which represents a significant escalation in the Middle East war, this time between Israel and Hezbollah.
Additional personnel include squadrons of F-15E, F-16 and F-22 fighters and A-10 attack aircraft, as well as personnel necessary to support them. There was supposed to be a rotation and the planes would replace the squadrons already there. Instead, existing and new squadrons will remain in the area to double the available air power.
On Sunday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that he was temporarily expanding the presence of the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group and its air support in the region. A US official stated that the extension will be approximately one month. A second aircraft carrier, the Harry S. Truman, left Virginia last week for Europe. It will head to the Mediterranean, and with its presence there will once again be two aircraft carriers in the region. It is expected to take at least a week to arrive.
At the White House, President Joe Biden said Monday that “I am more aware than you might know” about reports that Israel is planning a limited ground incursion into Lebanon after nearly a year of fighting with Hezbollah, and noted who wants an immediate ceasefire. When asked about the reports, Biden responded: “I’m more aware of what you might know, and I’m fine with you stopping. “We should have a ceasefire now.”
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– 2024-10-01 05:07:30
