By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT (Worthy News) – The United States is sending military assets, including a battleship, to Israel and Lebanon to prepare for the evacuation of Americans, U.S. sources say, as Israel’s prime minister warned of a rapid military escalation.
The move was also intended to create a deterrent against more regional tension, including between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah, sources said. It came as Israel warned of an imminent broader war, encouraged by Iran, which sponsors Hezbollah and other groups.
“Tehran is fighting us on a seven-front war: obviously, Hamas, Hezbollah as well as the Houthis, the militias in Iraq and Syria, the West Bank, and Iran itself,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He warned that Iran sought to “conquer the Middle East” as the number of countries urging its citizens to leave Lebanon grew, amid heightened concern that the Israel-Hezbollah cross-border conflict would widen into an all-out war.
The prime minister spoke as the USS Wasp, an amphibious assault ship, and Marines from the 24th Expeditionary Unit, special operations capable, were on their way.
It moved into the Mediterranean on Wednesday to join the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill and another ship in their amphibious ready group, according to the Marine Corps.
The Wasp will operate in the eastern Mediterranean to be ready for a Military Assisted Departure of Americans and other missions, the officials told U.S. media.
It did little to ease cross-border strains between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which have been escalating recently.
Shelling across Israel’s northern border has led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from areas on both sides of the frontier in recent months.
However, in worrying signs of the internalization of the war, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey stood in solidarity with Lebanon amid growing tensions with Israel. He urged regional countries also to support Beirut.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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