WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is sending a small number of additional troops to the Middle East in response to a sharp spike in violence between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon that has raised the risk of a greater regional war, the Pentagon said Monday.
Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, would not say how many more forces would be deployed or what they would be tasked to do. The U.S. now has about 40,000 troops in the region.
On Monday, the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, two Navy destroyers and a cruiser set sail from Norfolk, Virginia, headed to the Sixth Fleet area in Europe on a regularly scheduled deployment. The ships' departure opens up the possibility that the U.S. could keep both the Truman and the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is in the Arabian Gulf, in the region in case more violence breaks out.
“In light of increased tension in the Middle East and out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional U.S. military personnel forward to augment our forces that are already in the region," Ryder said. "But for operational security reasons, I’m not going to comment on or provide specifics.”
The new deployments come after significant strikes by Israeli forces against targets inside Lebanon that have killed hundreds and as Israel is preparing to conduct further operations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday warned Lebanese civilians in a videotaped message to evacuate their homes ahead of a widening air campaign. He spoke as Israeli warplanes struck alleged Hezbollah targets in southern and eastern Lebanon.
The U.S. has “concrete ideas” for restoring calm along the Israel-Lebanon border that it will present to allies and partners this week on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly gathering of world leaders, a senior State Department official said Monday.
The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss the private diplomatic efforts, said the U.S. and numerous other countries were eager to present an “off-ramp” for both Israel and Hezbollah to reduce tensions and prevent an all-out war.
The official would not detail what the “concrete ideas” are because he said they had yet to be presented to allies and partners for what he termed a “stress test” for their likelihood of success.
The State Department is warning Americans to leave Lebanon as the risk of a regional war increases.
“Due to the unpredictable nature of ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel and recent explosions throughout Lebanon, including Beirut, the U.S. Embassy urges U.S. citizens to depart Lebanon while commercial options still remain available,” the State Department cautioned Saturday.
Ryder would not say if the additional forces might support the evacuation of American citizens if needed.
U.S. officials said a decision is expected soon, possibly this week, on whether the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier will stay in the Middle East or continue to the Asia-Pacific.
Having two carrier strike groups in the Middle East at the same time has been relatively rare in recent years. But as violence has spiked between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah, both Iranian-backed militant groups, the Biden administration has ordered the Navy to have the carriers and their warships overlap for several weeks on a couple occasions.
It will take the Truman aircraft carrier about two weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean and get into the Mediterranean Sea. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss troop movements.
There is already a Marine amphibious ready group in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard, which is expected to be able to assist in an evacuation if needed.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held back-to-back calls with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over the weekend as he pressed for a cease-fire and a reduction of tensions in the region, Ryder said.
“Given the tensions, given the escalation, as I highlighted, there is the potential for a wider regional conflict. I don’t think we’re there yet, but it’s a dangerous situation,” Ryder said.
The American presence in the Middle East is designed both to help defend Israel and protect U.S. and allied personnel and assets. Navy warships are scattered across the region, from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Oman, and both Air Force and Navy fighter jets are strategically based at several locations to be better prepared to respond to any attacks.
AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed from New York.
Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, in northern Israel, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes on villages in the Nabatiyeh district, seen from the southern town of Marjayoun, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s international airport shut down on Monday after gangs opened fire at a commercial flight landing in Port-Au-Prince, prompting some airlines to temporarily suspend operations as the country swore in a new interim prime minister who promised to restore peace.
The Spirit Airlines flight headed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Port-Au-Prince was just hundreds of feet from landing in Haiti's capital when gangs shot at the plane striking a flight attendant, who suffered minor injuries, according to the airline, the U.S. Embassy and flight tracking data. The flight was diverted and landed in the Dominican Republic.
Photos and videos obtained by The Associated Press show bullet holes dotting the interior of a plane.
The shooting appeared to be part of what the U.S. Embassy called “gang-led efforts to block travel to and from Port-au-Prince which may include armed violence, and disruptions to roads, ports, and airports.” Spirit, JetBlue and American Airlines said Monday they were canceling flights to and from Haiti.
In other parts of Haiti’s capital, firefights between gangs and police broke out. Rounds of gunfire echoed through the streets as heavily armed officers ducked behind walls and civilians ran in terror. In other upper class areas, gangs set fire to homes. Schools closed as panic spread in a number of areas.
The turmoil comes a day after a council meant to reestablish democratic order in the Caribbean nation fired the interim prime minister Garry Conille, replacing him with businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé. The council has been marked by infighting and three members were recently accused of corruption.
As he was sworn in, Fils-Aimé said his top priorities were to restore peace to the crisis-stricken nation and hold elections, which haven’t been held in Haiti since 2016.
“There is a lot to be done to bring back hope" he said before a room of suit-clad diplomats and security officials. “I'm deeply sorry for the people ... that have been victimized, forced to leave everything they own.”
The country has seen weeks of political chaos, which observers warned could result in even more violence in a place where bloodshed has become the new normal. The country's slate of gangs have long capitalized on political turmoil to make power grabs, shutting down airports, shipping ports and stirring chaos.
The United Nations estimates that gangs control 85% of the capital of Port-au-Prince, while a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police to quell gang violence struggles with a lack of funding and personnel, prompting calls for a U.N. peacekeeping mission.
Louis-Henri Mars, executive director of Lakou Lapè, an organization working on peace building in violent areas of Haiti, said the political fighting has “allowed the gangs to have more freedom to attack more neighborhoods in the city and expand their control of Port-au-Prince.” Civilians, he fears, will suffer the consequences.
“There will be more lives lost, more internal displacement, and more hunger in a country where half the population is on the brink of starvation,” he said.
The transitional council was established in April, tasked with choosing Haiti’s next prime minister and Cabinet with the hope that it would help quell violence, which exploded after Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in 2021.
The council was meant to pave the way to democratic elections, but it has been plagued with politics and infighting, and has long been at odds with Conille, the interim prime minister they hand picked six months ago, who they fired yesterday. Gangs have capitalized on that power vacuum to make their own power grabs.
Conille railed against the council's decision to fire him, calling it an illegal overreach of their powers.
“This resolution, taken outside of any legal and constitutional framework, raises serious concerns about its legitimacy and its repercussions on the future of our country,” he wrote in a letter.
Organizations including the Organization of American States tried and failed last week to mediate disagreements in an attempt to save the fragile transition.
On Monday, U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric urged all involved in Haiti's democratic transition “to work constructively together," although he stopped short of offering an opinion on the move to oust Conille.
"Overcoming their differences and putting the country first remains critical," he said. "What is important is that Haitian political leaders put the interests of Haiti first and foremost.”
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Associated Press reporter David Koenig contributed to this report from Dallas and Pierre-Richard Luxama, contributed from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
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Haiti's new Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, right, shakes hands with Transition Council President Leslie Voltaire during his swearing-in ceremony in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Haiti's new Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé reacts after his inauguration ceremony in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
People take cover from the exchange of gunfire between Gangs and police in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
People watch as police officers exchange gunfire with gangs in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Police officers patrol a street during an exchange of gunfire between gangs and police in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
A police officer looks on during an exchange of gunfire between gangs and police in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Police officers patrol the area during an exchange of gunfire between gangs and police in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Journalists take cover from the exchange of gunfire between gangs and police in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Journalists take cover from the exchange of gunfire between gangs and police in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
