The United States agrees with Israel “dismantle attack infrastructure in Lebanon” and announced in recent hours that will deploy “a few thousand soldiers” in the Middle East, at a time when the Israeli army has already launched its land incursion into neighboring country.
The American Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austinagreed with the Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallantthe need to “dismantle the attack infrastructure” on the border with the Arab country to prevent an attack by Hezbollah similar to that of Hamas on October 7.
In a telephone conversation, Austin reaffirmed that “a diplomatic resolution “to ensure that civilians can return home safely on both sides of the border,” according to the Defense Ministry. The two leaders discussed the importance of moving “ultimately” from military operations to diplomatic channels to ensure security and stability “as soon as possible”, he added in a note.
The Defense Secretary also made clear during his meeting with his Israeli counterpart that the United States is “well positioned to defend our personnel, partners and allies against Iranian-backed terrorist threats and organizations.”
The United States announces the sending of “a few thousand soldiers”
On the other hand, the vice-spokesperson of PentagonSabrina Singh announced this Monday that Washington will deploy “a few thousand soldiers” in the Middle East to strengthen security and defend Israel “in case it is necessary”.
The sending of forces, including the number was not specifiedincludes combat air defense units and will join the tens of thousands of U.S. troops already in the region. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “has increased the availability of more U.S. forces to deploy, thereby increasing our preparedness to respond to various contingencies,” Singh said.
The conversation between Austin and Gallant as well as the announcement of the new troop shipment took place shortly after the Israeli army confirmed the start of a military operation. “limited and localized” land incursion in the south of Lebanon.
The latest casualty report from the Lebanese Health Ministry, presented shortly before the invasion began, warned that Israeli attacks in the country had left at least 95 dead and 172 injured in the last 24 hours. These figures add up to more than a thousand deaths and around a million people displaced due to Israel’s brutal bombing campaign in the neighboring country.
