In Israel Conflict, U.S. Military Warns Others to Stay Out, But No ‘Boots on the Ground’ for Now

"The U.S. military role is primarily to stabilize the region and deter additional actors from opportunistically choosing to join in the fight against Israel," Jonathan Lord, a senior fellow and director of the Middle East security program at the Center for a New American Security think tank, told Military.com on Tuesday.

Like officials in the Pentagon, Lord said Hezbollah, the U.S.-designated terrorist group to Israel's north, is one of the main concerns.

"Primarily, the U.S. military is going to be tasked with providing … logistics to resupply the Israeli military during its fight," Lord said, adding that Israel has requested precision-guided missiles and interceptors for its Iron Dome from the U.S., according to CNN.

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"The president could potentially -- if the threat is warranted -- introduce the U.S. into hostilities in order to protect American lives," Lord said. "I don't believe that is under discussion at this time, but those are the avenues by which the U.S. could find itself directly in conflicts with Hamas or others."

Should hostilities become necessary, having the Ford carrier strike group in the Eastern Mediterranean gives Biden options, including intelligence sharing, non-combatant evacuation operations, and defense capabilities, Lord noted.

"Wherever they are, the U.S. military retains the right to self-defense," Lord said.

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