A wider Middle East war grew more likely Sunday as Israel pounded Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip and struck alleged militants in the West Bank and Syria, while warning Lebanon-based Hezbollah of “devastating” consequences should it enter the war.
U.S. officials, also fearing an escalation of the conflict that began with Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, announced the deployment of naval assets and missile defense batteries to the Persian Gulf region. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he was putting more troops on “prepare to deploy” orders, joining at least 2,000 U.S. personnel given such orders last week.
U.S. forces already in the Middle East have come under fire recently by militias linked to Iran, while Iran-backed Houthi rebels late last week fired rockets and drones from Yemen that officials said were aimed at Israel. They were shot down by American warships.
With new hot spots popping up across the region on an almost daily basis, top Biden administration officials now openly concede that escalation seems all but certain.
“We are concerned. In fact, we expect that there’s a likelihood of escalation — escalation by Iranian proxies directed against our forces, directed against our personnel,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We are taking steps to make sure we can effectively defend our people and respond decisively if we need to. This is not what we want, not what we’re looking for. We don’t want escalation. We don’t want to see a second or third front develop. We don’t want to see our forces or our personnel come under fire.”
“But if that happens, we’re ready for it,” Mr. Blinken said.
Mr. Austin said the U.S. “won’t hesitate” to defend itself against Iran or its proxy forces. He also acknowledged that the trend lines in the Middle East are troubling.
“In fact, what we’re seeing is a prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region,” he told ABC’s “This Week.” “And because of that, we’re going to do what’s necessary to make sure that our troops are … in a good position, and they’re protected, and that we have the ability to respond.”
Late Saturday, Mr. Austin announced that the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group will head to the Persian Gulf. Just a few days ago, the Pentagon said the strike group would sail to the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel in a show of solidarity with Jerusalem.
The Eisenhower will be the second U.S. carrier strike group in the Middle East. The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is already in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The addition of the Eisenhower, Mr. Austin said, will bolster American military capabilities in the theater.
In addition to the Eisenhower strike group, the Pentagon will send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, battery to the region, along with Patriot missile defense battalions.
The moves come as Israel escalates its war against Hamas in Gaza, a response to the Oct. 7 Hamas assault that killed more than 1,400 Israelis and saw more than 200 people taken hostage by the terrorist group. Israel carried out more airstrikes Sunday against Hamas targets in Gaza, even as a second wave of humanitarian aid trucks waited to enter the enclave to deliver food, water and medicine.
Israeli troops are amassed along the border with Gaza for a widely anticipated ground invasion, though there were signals Sunday that Israel may hold off on that operation for several days in an effort to free more hostages held by Hamas.
Escalation inevitable?
Much of the Arab world has condemned Israel’s military response so far and said that innocent Palestinians are being killed on a daily basis. Iran has led that charge, has publicly celebrated the Hamas operation and urged the Arab world to unite against Israel.
Iran is Hamas’ chief financial backer. Tehran also helps bankroll Hezbollah, a larger and much more capable militant group based in Lebanon, to Israel’s north. Hezbollah so far hasn’t fully entered the fight against Israel, though the two sides have traded periodic strikes in the two weeks since Oct. 7.
Amid signs that the northern front might heat up, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli troops stationed near the Lebanon border and issued a clear warning.
“If Hezbollah decides to enter the war … it will make the mistake of its life,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “We will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine, and the consequences for it and the Lebanese state are devastating.”
Israeli officials believe Hezbollah may have as many as 150,000 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel.
Jerusalem also is fighting on other fronts. Syrian state-controlled media on Sunday reported that Israeli airstrikes hit the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo, killing one person and putting the runways out of service.
Iran-backed militias are active in Syria. Israeli officials on Sunday also said they targeted a mosque in the West Bank belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another one. At least two people were killed in that airstrike.
The Palestinian Authority controls much of the West Bank, while Hamas controls the Gaza Strip.
Amid those tensions, the U.S. and Israel are working with other Arab partners, some of whom have lines of communication with Hamas leadership, to try to facilitate the release of more hostages from Gaza. The militant group on Friday released Judith Ranaan, 59, and her daughter Natalie, 17, of the Chicago area, the first two prisoners to be released since the Oct. 7 assault. Hamas said only that the Ranaans had been released on “humanitarian” grounds, but U.S. officials admit they aren’t exactly sure why Hamas decided to set them free.
“We don’t know why Hamas chose to release Natalie and Judith first,” Mr. Blinken said Sunday. “I can’t speak to that. What I can speak to is our incessant efforts from day one to try to get people home.”
President Biden said Friday from the White House that he and first lady Jill Biden were “overjoyed” at the news of the release: “We have not ceased our efforts to secure the release of those who are still being held.”
“As president, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans held hostage around the world,” Mr. Biden said, thanking the governments of Israel and Qatar for their work in obtaining the release of the first two hostages.
Mr. Blinken said the rest of the hostages should be released “now, unconditionally.” But Hamas has threatened to publicly execute prisoners if Israel strikes civilian targets in the Gaza Strip.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.