US Marines to be deployed closer to Lebanon and Israel

There is areal risk of the war between Israel and Hamas escalating into a wider regionalconflict.

White HouseNational Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said this on ABCNews.

"Thepresident (Joe Biden — Ed.) has been very clear about this: if American troopsare attacked by Iran and its proxies, we will respond... and I think theIranians have understood our message," Sullivan said, answering a questionabout what is expected if Iranian-backed groups continue to attack US forces inthe region.

He addedthat the United States is taking all necessary measures to prevent the conflictin Israel and Gaza from escalating into a regional one, but "the risk isreal."

Meanwhile,the US Marine Corps Rapid Reaction Force is being redeployed to the easternMediterranean.

Accordingto CNN , the 26thMarine Expeditionary Unit aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan hasbeen operating in the waters of the Middle East in recent weeks, but late lastweek it began to make its way to the Suez Canal.

The ship iscurrently in the Red Sea and is expected to move to the eastern Mediterraneansoon. This will bring the marine unit closer to Lebanon and Israel.

Suchactions by the US military are linked to the likelihood of an expansion of thewar between Israel and Hamas in the region. The first alarm bells sounded backon 18 October, when unidentifieddrones attacked two US military bases: Al-Tanf, near Syria's common borderwith Iraq and Jordan, and Konoko in the countryside of the northern region ofDeir ez-Zor. As a result of the strikes, 20 US servicemen were wounded.

Accordingto the Pentagon, between 18 and 25 October, US forces suffered at least 10drone attacks in Iraq and three in Syria. According to Pentagon spokesmanGeneral Pat Ryder, the attacks were carried out by terrorist groups supportedby Iran and its military units, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In responseto these attacks, TheHill, reports that US F-16fighter jets struck two weapons and ammunition storage facilities in easternSyria that were used by Iran and its backed forces. US Secretary of DefenceLloyd Austin said last week that the strikes were a response to a series oflargely unsuccessful attacks by pro-Iranian groups on US personnel in Iraq andSyria.