The United States may be forced to evacuate nearly 700,000 citizens from Israel and Lebanon.
Such a situation is a "worst-case scenario," say officials within the Biden administration to the Washington Post.
The information comes at the same time as the U.S. is "deeply concerned" about the possibility of escalation in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Above all, the U.S. is concerned about how to solve the logistics of evacuating 600,000 of its nationals living in Israel.
"This has become a real problem," says an official to the American newspaper.
Risk of a two-front war
The U.S. is also deeply concerned about Hezbollah, the militant political group that has controlled Lebanon since 1992 and has long been armed and trained by Iran.
The group is believed to have the capacity to attack Israel from the north, thereby creating a two-front war.
"The administration is very, very, very, very concerned that this will get out of hand," emphasizes one of the officials the Washington Post spoke with.
An additional 86,000 Americans live in Lebanon who would also need to be evacuated in such a scenario.
"Stopped caring about Palestine"
But the U.S. is also looking towards other countries in the region.
The bombing of Gaza has created anger against Israel in Arab countries—where American officials thought the issue was overplayed.
Here too, the U.S. fears that American lives are at risk.
"We have been hearing for the past ten years that the Arab world and the Muslim world no longer cared about Palestine," says Bruce Riedel, an American analyst and former official in the Bill Clinton administration.
He refers to an agreement signed by Sudan, Morocco, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates aimed at normalizing relations with Israel.
Warning to citizens Worldwide
Over 5,000 people in Gaza, the majority civilians and children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7, according to Palestinian authorities.
Last week, the U.S. State Department issued a warning to all American citizens worldwide to "exercise increased caution" due to "increased tensions in various places," writes the Washington Post.
The warning was for "potential terrorist attacks, demonstrations, and violent acts" against American citizens and interests.
