U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles assigned to the 494th Fighter Squadron take off from RAF Lakenheath, England, for a deployment to the Middle East on Oct. 16, 2023. (Olivia Gibson/U.S. Air Force)
The U.S. military’s top general in the Middle East arrived in Israel early Tuesday as part of a series of visits by American officials intended to prevent conflict in the region from spiraling into a wider war.
Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, said during meetings with Israeli military leaders in Tel Aviv that the U.S. will support Israel, a statement from the command said.
“I’m here to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself and am particularly focused on avoiding other parties expanding the conflict,” Kurilla said in the statement.
Kurilla’s visit comes ahead of a scheduled trip by President Joe Biden to Israel and Jordan on Wednesday and follows shuttle diplomacy by Secretary of State Antony Blinken throughout the region.
U.S. military officials and diplomats have said they intend to provide munitions to the Israeli military, which is likely to launch a ground offensive into Gaza in response to attacks since Oct. 7 by Hamas that killed 1,400 people, according to Israeli estimates.
Israel’s response so far has included bombardments of Gaza that have left 2,778 dead and 9,938 injured, the Palestinian health ministry said Tuesday.
The U.S. has moved troops and hardware to and around the region. Defense officials say those assets are meant to deter groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and other Iran-backed groups from escalating the conflict with Israel.
A U.S. sailor assigned to the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan signals to an MV-22B Osprey to land on the ship’s flight deck in the Persian Gulf on Oct. 11, 2023. (Riley Gasdia/U.S. Navy)
U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla and Israel Defense Forces chief Herzi Halevi meet in Tel Aviv, Israel, on May 30, 2023. Kurilla arrived in Israel Oct. 17 for meetings with its military leadership. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Pentagon said Tuesday that 2,000 U.S. troops from a variety of units have been given a prepare to deploy order.
“No decisions have been made to deploy any forces at this time,” deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said in a statement.
Those troops are deployed in the Middle East and elsewhere, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Meanwhile, a U.S. Marine unit aboard an amphibious assault ship began sailing toward Israel for potential use on missions to evacuate American citizens, a U.S. defense official told the Wall Street Journal.
Those Marines, the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, ended a military exercise in Kuwait early in response to the conflict “as a prudent measure,” a spokeswoman for Marine Corps Forces Central Command said Friday.
Two aircraft carrier strike groups, A-10 attack aircraft and F-15 fighter jets also have been sent to the region in the past week.
U.S. officials have expressed concern that Iran and the militant groups it backs may join the fighting should Israel’s army become preoccupied in a grinding fight in Gaza, according to a New York Times report Monday.
The Israeli military would have to fight a two-front war, with battles in Gaza and another conflict on the country’s northern border with Lebanon, where there already have been skirmishes with Hezbollah, the Times report said.
Iran’s foreign minister, meanwhile, warned on Monday that “preemptive action is possible” if Israel continues preparations for a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, The Associated Press reported Monday.
Iran has backed Hamas for many years, but U.S. officials say there is no “smoking gun” implicating Tehran’s involvement in funding or planning the Oct. 7 attacks.
