President Biden is scheduled to meet with his national security team in the Situation Room on Monday ahead of an expected Iranian attack on Israel.
The talks came a day after Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin met with his Israeli counterpart on Sunday to reiterate U.S. support for the Jewish state amid rising tensions with Iran and its proxies after 10 months of fighting Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip and fears of a broader regional war.
According to a Pentagon statement, Secretary of Defense Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant discussed the Pentagon’s efforts to strengthen U.S. force posture in the region, support Israel’s defense, and deter and ease broader tensions in the region.
A map showing U.S. Navy assets stationed in the Middle East. (Fox News)
The meeting came on the same day that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on Sunday that Israel was already in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its proxies.
Tensions in the region were already at an all-time high after the killing last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and a top Hamas political leader in Iran. Iran and its allies have blamed Israel and warned of retaliation. Hamas said it had begun consultations to choose a new leader.
Israel prepares for Iran attack after warning that Iranian regime is close to possessing nuclear weapons: ‘Disturbing’
Netanyahu said Israel was prepared for any scenario. Jordan’s foreign minister, who is on a rare visit to Iran as part of diplomatic efforts, said he “want to put an end to the escalation of tensions.”
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly told colleagues on Sunday that Iran and Hezbollah could attack Israel as early as Monday. From Axios.
Smoke rises after an attack in an area adjacent to the Israeli-Lebanese border in Lebanon’s Galilee region, as seen from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Gen. Michael Eric Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), is due to arrive in Israel on Monday to coordinate preparations for the expected attack, the spokesman said. The Israel Times.
A worker walks through rubble as a backhoe removes debris from a building damaged by an Israeli air strike in the southern outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday evening. (AP/Hussein Marra)
In Israel, some prepared bomb shelters, recalling an unprecedented direct military strike by Iran in April after a suspected Israeli attack killed two Iranian generals. Israel said nearly all the drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles were intercepted.
“Iran has long provided weapons and funding to terrorist organizations across the Middle East, including by smuggling explosives into Israeli territory for terrorist attacks against civilians,” IDF spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagar said in a statement. “The IDF and ISA have already thwarted numerous attacks in which claymore-type explosives were smuggled into Israeli territory. We remain committed to countering Iranian terrorism wherever it may be.”
The war in Gaza was triggered by a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, which left around 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians, and around 250 taken hostage. According to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, Israel’s brutal retaliation has left around 40,000 Palestinians dead. The Ministry of Health does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Intense air strikes and ground operations have caused widespread destruction and forced most of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million residents to flee.
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The militant group Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire along the Lebanese border since the war began and has intensified in recent months, in what Hezbollah says is an attempt to relieve pressure on its Iran-backed ally Hamas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
