The State of Israel is currently waging war on three fronts, against the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Syria.
As the conflict spreads, the US has begun to also beef up its military presence in the region.
The United States senior officials have also said it was poised to get involved in the Israel-Hamas war should the conflict escalate into regional forces intentionally targeting American personnel.
US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, declared on Monday that the US was ‘ready’ to get involved in the Israel-Hamas war if the line was crossed, saying, “We won’t hesitate.”
Blinken and Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin, said the US expected Iranian proxies to seek opportunities to escalate the Israel-Hamas war and asserted that the Biden administration was prepared to respond accordingly if American civilians or armed forces became targets.
“This is not what we want, not what we’re looking for. We don’t want escalation,” Blinken said, adding: “We don’t want to see our forces or our personnel come under fire. But if that happens, we’re ready for it.”
Austin said it was in response to “recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces.”
But the United States warned on Monday that any Gaza ceasefire by Israel would benefit Hamas, as the European Union considered a call for a humanitarian pause.
A ceasefire would “give Hamas the ability to rest, to refit and to get ready to continue launching terrorist attacks against Israel,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
“You can understand perfectly clearly why that’s an intolerable situation for Israel, as it would be an intolerable situation for any country that has suffered such a brutal terrorist attack and continues to see the terrorist threat right on its border,” he said.
But former United States President, Barack Obama, said Monday that he supported Israel in its war with Hamas but cautioned the government against actions that “could ultimately backfire,” citing the high death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
While he didn’t directly criticise the Israeli government, Obama pointed to Israel’s decision to cut off water, food and electricity to Gaza, the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people and the high number of civilian casualties, including among children.
“The world is watching closely as events in the region unfold, and any Israeli military strategy that ignores the human costs could ultimately backfire,” Obama said in a lengthy statement posted to Medium.
He added: “It could further harden Palestinian attitudes for generations, erode global support for Israel…and undermine long term efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region.”
Following the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, immediately declared war on the group.
The conflict has spilled over into the neighboring countries of Lebanon and Syria as Israel ramps up airstrikes on the two Arab states.
The US has sent more military assets to the region to bolster Israel’s forces following what US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin called “recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces.”
Hezbollah, a militant group backed by Iran, has been fighting Israeli forces on Lebanon’s northern border with Israel.
The day after Israel declared war, Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets on Israeli positions to support “Palestinian resistance.”
Israel also targeted Damascus and Aleppo international airports in Syria, where Iran maintains a military presence. The strikes reportedly killed two workers.
On the ceasefire calls, Miller said the United States was separately working to ensure a flow of humanitarian relief into Gaza, with a US envoy, David Satterfield, on the ground working “intensively” on aid.
European Foreign Policy Chief, Josep Borrell, said earlier Monday that he expected the bloc’s leaders to back a call for a pause in fighting to let in aid.
“I believe that the idea of a humanitarian pause to facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid, which would allow displaced persons to find shelter, is something that the leaders will support,” Borrell said after talks with EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja with agency reports
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