The US Department of Defense (Pentagon) announced Tuesday that it will reinforce its forces in the Middle East with an additional military force that it described as "small," in light of the escalating tensions in the region. The Pentagon said in a statement that the decision comes in the context of increasing tension, affirming the importance of continuing to work to find a diplomatic solution to the current situation, despite the increasing possibility of a wider regional conflict. The department stressed its continued consultations with the Israeli entity and other countries in the region to prevent escalation and turn it into a wider regional conflict, stressing that diplomatic solutions are still the primary option in dealing with the current tensions. This announcement comes in conjunction with a major escalation in Lebanon, where the Minister of Public Health in the Lebanese caretaker government Dr. Firass Abiad reported that the death toll from Israeli raids in Lebanon resulted in the killing of 3 56 people, including 24 children and 42 women, and the injury of 1,246. Source: Qatar News Agency