US sending additional troops to Middle East as Israel ramps up attacks across Lebanon

WASHINGTON

The US announced Monday that it is sending a "small number" of additional forces to the Middle East as Israel dramatically increased airstrikes across Lebanon prompting unprecedented Hezbollah retaliatory strikes.

The US has about 40,000 troops stationed in the region, and Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder did not specify how many new forces would be sent.

"In light of increased tension in the Middle East and out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional US military personnel forward to augment our forces that are already in the region," Ryder told reporters, according to multiple media reports. "I’m not going to comment on or provide specifics."

Israeli warplanes pounded Lebanon throughout Monday, striking across the south and into the north in what Israel says are strikes intended to hit Hezbollah targets.

Lebanese authorities said at least 356 people, including 21 children, had been killed and 1,246 others were injured in the attacks.

Thousands of people have been forced to flee.

“The Israeli aggression is a scheme aimed at destroying Lebanese villages, towns and eradicating all green spaces,” said Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the army may target numerous Lebanese villages located up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the border.

Hezbollah separately said that its forces fired dozens of rockets at Israel’s Rafael Electronics Company, which is due north of Haifa, as well as the reserve headquarters of the Northern Corps and logistics base of the Galilee Formation in the Ami'ad camp.

This was the second time Hezbollah targeted military sites in Haifa, having previously fired missiles at the city on Sunday.

Tension has mounted between Hezbollah and Israel following a deadly airstrike on Friday that killed at least 45 people, including women and children, and injured dozens in a suburb of Beirut.

Hezbollah confirmed that at least 16 of its members, including senior leader Ibrahim Aqil and top commander Ahmed Wahbi, were killed in the Israeli airstrike.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed over 41,400 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last October.