Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Sunday that the US expects the Israel-Hamas conflict to escalate due to the involvement of Iranian proxies and that the Biden administration is prepared to respond if American personnel or armed forces become the target of such hostilities.
“This isn’t what we’re looking for or want.” “We don’t want things to escalate,” Blinken remarked. “We don’t want our forces or personnel to come under fire.” But if something occurs, we’ll be ready.”
In the words of Austin, “what we’re seeing is a prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region.”
He stated that the United States has the right to self-defense and that “we will not hesitate to take the appropriate action.”
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The warning from high-ranking US officials came as Israel’s military response to a deadly Hamas attack on civilians in southern Israel on Oct. 7 reached its third week.
As the battle threatened to envelop more of the Middle East, Israeli airplanes attacked sites across Gaza overnight and into Sunday, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank purportedly used by terrorists.
Since the start of the conflict, Israel has exchanged fire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist organization on an almost daily basis, and emotions are high in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli soldiers have engaged militants in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days.
The United States stated on Sunday that non-essential personnel at its embassy in Iraq should evacuate.
Blinken, who recently spent several days in the region, warned of a “likelihood of escalation,” adding that no one wants a second or third front in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which administers Gaza.
The secretary of state stated that there will be “escalation by Iranian proxies directed against our forces, directed against our personnel,” and said: “We are taking steps to make sure that we can effectively defend our people and respond decisively if we need to.” Iran is an adversary of Israel.
Blinken, speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said that extra military forces, including two aircraft carrier battle groups, had been dispatched to the region “not to provoke, but to deter, to make clear that if anyone tries to do anything, we’re there.”
President Joe Biden has often warned Israel’s opponents not to take advantage of the situation by saying, “Don’t.”
Meanwhile, trucks carrying food, water, and other supplies for Gaza’s residents continued to enter the enclave on Sunday, a day after a major border crossing with Egypt was opened to allow humanitarian aid to begin pouring.
However, Cindy McCain, executive director of the United Nations World Food Program, stated that the situation in Gaza remains “catastrophic.” She believes that additional help should be allowed.
She stated that her group was able to serve 200,000 people for supper on Saturday, “but that is insufficient.” That’s a dribble. We require stable and long-term access in that region to feed people.”
Before the recent battle, she added, 400 assistance trucks were entering Gaza every day.
“This is a catastrophe happening and we just simply have to get these trucks in,” she said.
Biden, who was at his home on the Delaware coast, was briefed by his national security team on the latest developments, the White House said. During separate conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Pope Francis, Biden also discussed the situation.
Biden and Netanyahu talked about “the need to prevent escalation in the region and to work toward a durable peace in the Middle East,” the White House said. Israel has promised a military ground invasion of Gaza to destroy Hamas.
Biden also convened a call with the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom to discuss the conflict. Among topics discussed, the White House said the leaders committed to working closely to keep the war from spreading while seeking a political solution.
Due to the heightened tensions, the State Department ordered non-essential US diplomats and their families at the US Embassy in Iraq and the US consulate in Irbil to leave the country on Sunday. The government stated in an updated statement to Americans in Iraq that the security situation in Iraq rendered routine operations impossible.
