A trip to Israel by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin planned for next week has been postponed amid the escalation on the border with Lebanon, a source familiar with the issue said Thursday.
The source did not give a reason for the postponement.
The trip would have come at a time of heightened tensions in the region after Israeli attacks that blew up communications devices, killing 37 people and wounding around 3,000, overwhelming Lebanese hospitals and wreaking bloody havoc in the country.
The Pentagon on Thursday said there are no changes to U.S. military posture in the Middle East after the deadly Israeli attacks.
"I am not tracking any force posture changes in the Eastern Med or in the Central Command area of responsibility," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said in a press briefing.
The Pentagon said that any attack that escalates tensions in the Middle East will not be helpful.
"In pretty much every call the secretary always reiterates the need (that) we want to see regional tensions quell," Singh said when asked about Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin's call on Wednesday with his Israeli counterpart.
"We've never wanted to see a wider regional conflict."
Israel has not directly commented on the attacks, which security sources say were probably carried out by its Mossad spy agency.
The Pentagon was pressed on the potential for a Gaza cease-fire deal amid escalating regional tensions and said Washington did not believe a deal was falling apart.
The spokesperson added that the U.S. felt as of now the conflict was contained to Gaza.
President Joe Biden laid out a three phase Gaza cease-fire proposal on May 31. The deal has run into obstacles since.
Critics have urged Washington to use its leverage by conditioning military support to Israel but the U.S. has maintained its support for its ally.
The attacks in Lebanon have raised concerns about the widening of Israel's war in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.
Israel's assault on Gaza followed an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
