Lloyd Austin Orders Military To Stay On Alert As Israel-Hezbollah Conflict Heats Up

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is ordering the military to stay on high alert as the Israel-Hezbollah conflict continues to ramp up.

Tensions between the Lebanon-based terrorist group Hezbollah and Israel are sitting on a knife’s edge after Israel killed Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in an airstrike on Friday. The U.S. has a variety of assets in the Middle East region, and Austin wants them to be ready in case the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalates.

Austin directed the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group to remain in the Middle East after it was rerouted to the region months ago from its planned operations in the Indo-Pacific, according to Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder and Politico. The USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group / Marine Expeditionary Unit has also been directed to remain in the region, which will be “complemented by elevated fighter and attack squadron presence.”

Austin “has also increased the readiness of additional U.S. forces to deploy, elevating our preparedness to respond to various contingencies,” Ryder said in a statement on Sunday. “And maintains robust and integrated air-defense capabilities across the Middle East, ensuring the protection of U.S. forces operating in the region.”

The new directive may mean that two aircraft carrier strike groups will be postured in the Middle East for the second time in recent months. The strike groups come with various assets, including naval destroyers and fighter jets, which have been operating in the region since June.