US sending additional troops to Middle East

WASHINGTON (AA) – The US is sending additional forces to the Middle East as Israel dramatically increased airstrikes across Lebanon prompting unprecedented Hezbollah retaliatory strikes on Monday.

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.

“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.

An Israel airstrike on Friday 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 an attack by Hamas last October.