Pentagon chief to travel to Israel this week: Official

Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin is planning to travel to Israel tomorrow, a senior Defense Department official said Thursday, to discuss Israel’s military plans and objectives as it responds to one of the deadliest attacks it has ever suffered.

Austin will be the second senior US official to visit Israel following the Hamas attack over the weekend. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel on Thursday.

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“Secretary Austin will be discussing Israel’s security assistance needs there,” the senior Defense Department official told reporters during a phone call.

The Defense Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, reiterated previous US warnings to non-state actors looking to take advantage of the violence or open a second front against Israel.

After the Hamas attacks, Secretary Austin ordered the deployment of additional equipment and resources, including munitions, to arrive in Israel. He also ordered the deployment of a US aircraft carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean and the augmentation of fighter jets.

A senior US defense official said Monday that those military posture increases in the Middle East were intended to serve as a deterrent signal to Iran, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and any other proxy in the region following the Hamas attack.

On Thursday, a senior US defense official again warned: “Let me again reiterate one of the main messages that this rapid increase in [military] posture is intended to send to both state or non-state actors: The United States is unequivocal in its support for the defense of Israel, and it is sending a warning to any entity that would consider taking advantage of this conflict and this war to escalate violence. One word, quite simply: Don’t.”

Washington has voiced fears that Lebanese Hezbollah could attack Israel from the north. There have been cross-border exchanges after rocket and missile attacks from Palestinian factions inside Lebanon resulted in Israeli retaliation against Hezbollah targets. At least three Hezbollah militants have been killed, according to the group.

Read more: US warns Lebanon’s Hezbollah not to get involved in Hamas-Israel war