US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has underscored that call for diplomacy in daily calls with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant WASHINGTON: The US is sending a small number of additional troops to the Middle East, given escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, the Pentagon said on Monday, declining to specify the precise number or mission of the deployed forces. “Out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional US military personnel forward to augment our forces already in the region,” said Air Force Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson. After almost a year of war against Hamas in Gaza, Israel is shifting its focus to its northern frontier, where Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel in support of its ally Hamas. US President Joe Biden’s administration has been seeking to contain the conflict in Gaza and has repeatedly called for the Israel-Lebanon border crisis to be resolved through diplomacy. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has underscored that call for diplomacy in daily calls with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Experts question whether Iran would stay on the sidelines if Hezbollah’s existence were threatened and say US troops could also find themselves targeted throughout the Middle East if a regional war breaks out. In their call on Sunday, Austin suggested that no outside actors should intervene in the conflict. “The secretary made clear that the US remains postured to protect US forces and personnel and determined to deter any regional actors from exploiting the situation or expanding the conflict,” the Pentagon said in a statement. Those US capabilities include the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group, fighter aircraft, and air defenses. “We have more capability in the region today than we did on April 14th when Iran conducted its drone and missile attack against Israel,” Ryder said. “So all of those forces combined provide us with the options to protect our forces should they be attacked.” Ryder referred to Iran’s attack by more than 300 missiles and drones, which caused only modest damage inside Israel thanks to air defense interceptions from the US, Britain and other allies in the region.