WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Fighting in the Middle East continues as Israel launched a major raid into the West Bank.
Now, U.S. officials are continuing to try to avoid a larger regional war.
Israel says it killed ten Palestinian militants as it launched an operation inside the West Bank.
Israeli raids into the West Bank have been common since the October 7th attack, as Israel also engages in cross-border fighting with Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
“This past weekend, Secretary Austin underscored the United States’s ironclad resolve to support Israel’s defense against threats from Iran and its regional partners,” said Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder.
U.S. officials continue to support Israel even as military leaders prepare for the possibility of a broader regional war.
“What you saw over the weekend, of course, was a much larger scale than what we’ve seen previously. But it is, in our view, not a wider regional conflict at this stage,” said Ryder.
Ongoing ceasefire talks to ensure that the war doesn’t expand have been unsuccessful, as U.S. military forces remain at the ready around the gulf region.
“The secretary wanted, those two carrier groups, carrier strike groups, to remain in the region for now, to be able to provide us with additional capability and capacity to protect our forces, support the defense of Israel, and also be ready for a variety of contingencies,” said Ryder.
The White House says President Joe Biden continues to monitor the situation, even as he remains in Delaware on vacation.
