US Deploys Thousands of Troops to Middle East, Including Fighter Jets, Amid Israel-Hezbollah Conflict

In response to escalating tensions in the Middle East, the United States announced Monday it is deploying “a few thousand” additional troops to the region, bolstering security, The Associated Press reports.

The move follows reports of Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon and the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict.

The deployment will increase the total number of US troops in the region to as many as 43,000, including multiple fighter jet and attack aircraft squadrons, according to Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.

The additional personnel include squadrons of F-15E, F-16, and F-22 fighter jets, as well as A-10 attack aircraft, and the support personnel necessary to operate them. The jets, originally slated for rotation, will now remain in place, effectively doubling the US airpower in the region.

The US military is also extending the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group in the region for approximately a month. A second carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman, recently departed Virginia and is en route to the Mediterranean Sea, where it will eventually join the Abraham Lincoln, creating a two-carrier presence in the region.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden expressed his awareness of reports suggesting Israel is planning a limited ground incursion into Lebanon, emphasizing his desire for an immediate ceasefire.

“I’m more aware than you might know, and I’m comfortable with them stopping. We should have a ceasefire now,” Biden said.