Precautionary Measures at US Embassy, Protection Force Expected to Land in Beirut

Demonstrators burn a photograph of US President Donald Trump during a protest by few dozen people near the US embassy in Awkar, northeast of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Demonstrators burn a photograph of US President Donald Trump during a protest by few dozen people near the US embassy in Awkar, northeast of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
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Precautionary Measures at US Embassy, Protection Force Expected to Land in Beirut

Demonstrators burn a photograph of US President Donald Trump during a protest by few dozen people near the US embassy in Awkar, northeast of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Demonstrators burn a photograph of US President Donald Trump during a protest by few dozen people near the US embassy in Awkar, northeast of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

The US embassy in Beirut has taken preventive security measures, pending the arrival of a US military force from Italy to bolster protection and counter Iranian threats.

A US military official announced that this force was preparing to head to Lebanon, following the killing of the commander of the Iranian Quds Force Qassem Soleimani, by a US airstrike near Baghdad International Airport at dawn on Friday.

Sources with knowledge of the matter told Asharq Al-Awsat that the forces could arrive by air or sea.

“In the first case, they can land in the Army’s Hamat base in the north of the country, where US soldiers are training the Lebanese Army on the use of American weapons; as for the second case, the forces could arrive by sea through the nearest point to the embassy’s headquarters in Awkar,” the sources said.

The military official said that the force stationed in Italy was put on alert as a step within a series of military measures to protect American interests in the Middle East region. He explained that the US Department of Defense might send between 130 and 700 soldiers to Beirut.

A Lebanese security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that other security measures were imposed on the embassy’s staff, “including the ambassador, diplomats, administrative and security personnel, in addition to Americans working or residing in Lebanon or the Lebanese who hold US citizenship.”

In parallel, the ambassador of a major country advised officials in Lebanon to overcome the obstacles that prevent the formation of a new government “because the coming days are full of dangerous developments,” official sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The sources noted that “urgent contacts between people in Beirut and officials in Tehran have not ceased… to find the best retaliatory response,” adding that the US target could be “at sea on a warship or the assassination of a US figure or an ambassador, or striking an embassy.”



Israel’s Chief of Staff: Army Must Prepare to Expand Lebanon Ground Offensive

Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (center) meets with senior officers, November 4, 2024. (Israel Army)
Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (center) meets with senior officers, November 4, 2024. (Israel Army)
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Israel’s Chief of Staff: Army Must Prepare to Expand Lebanon Ground Offensive

Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (center) meets with senior officers, November 4, 2024. (Israel Army)
Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (center) meets with senior officers, November 4, 2024. (Israel Army)

The Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said on Wednesday that the military must prepare to expand the ongoing ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
During an assessment provided by the army, Halevi said, “Alongside the diplomatic attempt to reach agreements in Lebanon, we need to continue formulating the plans for the continuation of the fighting in Lebanon, including expanding and deepening the [ground] maneuver, and we will activate these plans as needed.”
He added that the Israeli army “continues to strike Hezbollah targets according to plan in the entire region, in southern Lebanon, the Beqaa Valley, Beirut and Syria.”
Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel the day after Hamas’ surprise attack into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 ignited the war in Gaza. Hezbollah and Hamas are both allied with Iran.
For nearly a year, the conflict was mostly contained to the areas along the border between Israel and Lebanon. The conflict dramatically escalated on Sept. 23 with intense Israeli airstrikes on south and east Lebanon as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs, leaving hundreds dead and leading to the displacement of nearly 1.2 million people.