US opposes Israeli ground incursion in Lebanon, ramps up troops to prepare evacuation of US citizens

Officials ask Israel to ensure safety of Americans in Lebanon in possible evacuation

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The Biden administration is opposed to a possible Israeli ground invasion in Lebanon and wants to continue finding a diplomatic solution between Israel and the Hezbollah terrorist organization, an official told the Times of Israel.

Amid an ongoing series of massive Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon, the official stated that the U.S. has “some concrete ideas” to discuss with its allies “to figure out the way forward on this.”

Against the backdrop of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this week, the anonymous official added that the U.S. would look for an “off-ramp that will first and foremost prevent further escalation in the fighting.”

According to Israel’s KAN News, the U.S. expects the situation to escalate after Israeli officials told them the IDF could intensify its attacks even further, and the government had held discussions about future actions.

U.S. officials reportedly gave Israel the green light to embark on the massive series of airstrikes, acknowledging that a diplomatic solution wasn’t feasible at this time.

Nevertheless, the unnamed U.S. official dismissed the Israeli strategy of widening its attacks to force Hezbollah into a diplomatic arrangement.

“I can’t recall, at least in recent memory, a period in which an escalation or intensification led to a fundamental de-escalation and led to profound stabilization of the situation,” he said.

The Biden administration, on the other hand, seeks to reduce tensions to break “the cycle of strike-counterstrike.”

“We obviously do not believe that a ground invasion of Lebanon is going to contribute to reducing tensions in the region, to preventing an escalatory spiral of violence, and that’s in part why we are so focused on utilizing this week to explore these ideas and see if we can develop this off-ramp,” he said.

The U.S. president said Monday he had been briefed on the situation between Israel and Hezbollah.

“I continue to be in contact with our counterparts and we’re working to deescalate in a way that allows people to return home safely,” said Biden.

The U.S. Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant several times over the weekend to push for a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon announced it would send an additional small number of U.S. troops to the region.

“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,” Pentagon Spokesman Maj.-Gen. Patrick Ryder stated.

The deployment of additional troops comes on the heels of the announcement that the USS Truman carrier strike group was headed to the Mediterranean Sea for a regularly scheduled deployment.

The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group recently arrived in the Persian Gulf amid a large-scale reinforcement of U.S. troops in the region.

Media reports suggested the additional troops would be used to facilitate a possible evacuation of U.S. citizens from Lebanon. According to the Axios news outlet, the Biden administration asked the Israeli government to ensure the safety of Americans in Lebanon in the event of an evacuation.

Austin reportedly raised the issue in recent discussions with Gallant when he asked for “deconfliction” measures to prevent accidental targeting of U.S. citizens or forces from Israeli strikes.