US deploys Marines to the Middle East amid tensions.

The US amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (Photo: Getty).

The New York Times quoted a senior U.S. military official as saying that the U.S. Marine Corps' 26th Rapid Response Unit is currently in the Red Sea and will soon move to the Mediterranean.

This deployment will place the U.S. Marine Corps unit closer to Lebanon and Israel amid Washington's advice to citizens to leave Lebanon as the situation escalates due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

One of the typical functions of this unit is to assist in the evacuation of citizens.

According to U.S. officials, the U.S. Marine Corps' 26th Rapid Response Unit boarded the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan and has been operating in the Mediterranean region for the past few weeks.

The U.S. Department of Defense has not commented.

Last week, the White House said it would be "reckless and irresponsible" not to plan for the evacuation of American citizens from the Middle East, including Israel and Lebanon.

At the time, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Washington had not yet decided to launch an evacuation operation. However, Israel's expansion of its ground campaign in Gaza prompted the US Embassy in Lebanon to once again urge its citizens to "leave immediately" before a crisis erupts.

The U.S. State Department has raised its travel advisory for Lebanon to level 4, meaning citizens are advised not to travel to the country.

These warnings come amid escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which risks spreading into a regional war. In addition to confronting Hamas on its southern border, Israel also faces shelling from the north by Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.

The fighting, which has lasted more than three weeks, has resulted in the deaths of approximately 8,000 people in Gaza and over 1,400 in Israel.

Last weekend, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced on October 28 that Israel had "entered a new phase" in the fight against Hamas after Israeli ground troops carried out raids on Gaza.

"We have entered a new phase of the war. Last night the ground in Gaza shook. We attacked both on the surface and underground," Gallant said.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi declared that Israel had "crossed a red line" with actions that could "force people to take measures."

President Raisi said Tehran would ignore US warnings not to interfere in the Hamas-Israel conflict. He also accused the US and several unnamed European countries of obstructing the ceasefire in Gaza.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned the US that "new fronts will be opened" against Washington if it does not change its policies in the Middle East, including its support for Israel.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/my-dua-linh-thuy-danh-bo-den-trung-dong-giua-luc-cang-thang-20231030070913112.htm