There are no changes to U.S. military posture in the Middle East

20/9/2024 6:04

        There are no changes to
        U.S. military posture in the Middle East, the Pentagon told
        reporters on Thursday when asked about recent deadly attacks in
        Lebanon attributed to Israel that blew up Hezbollah radios and
        pagers.
        
        Lebanon and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group have blamed
        Israel for attacks on Hezbollah's communications equipment that
        killed 37 people and wounded around 3,000, overwhelming Lebanese
        hospitals and wreaking bloody havoc on the militant group.
        
        "I am not tracking any force posture changes in the Eastern
        Med or in the Central Command area of responsibility," Pentagon
        spokesperson Sabrina Singh said in a press briefing.
        
        The Pentagon said that any attack that escalates tensions in
        the Middle East will not be helpful.
        
        "In pretty much every call the secretary always reiterates
        the need (that) we want to see regional tensions quell," Singh
        said when asked about Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin's call on
        Wednesday with his Israeli counterpart. "We've never wanted to
        see a wider regional conflict."
        
        Israel has not directly commented on the attacks, which
        security sources say were probably carried out by its Mossad spy
        agency.
        
        The Pentagon was pressed on the potential for a Gaza
        ceasefire deal amid escalating regional tensions and said
        Washington did not believe a deal was falling apart. The
        spokesperson added that the U.S. felt as of now the conflict was
        contained to Gaza.
        
        President Joe Biden laid out a three phase Gaza
        ceasefire proposal on May 31. The deal has run into obstacles
        since.
        
        Critics have urged Washington to use its leverage by
        conditioning military support to Israel but the U.S. has
        maintained its support for its ally.
        
        The attacks in Lebanon have raised concerns about the
        widening of Israel's war in Gaza that has killed tens of
        thousands, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide
        allegations at the World Court that Israel denies. Israel's
        assault on Gaza followed a deadly Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian
        Islamist group Hamas.