US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said on Sunday he has ordered the navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier to sail to the eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel after the attack by Hamas that has left more than 1,000 dead on both sides.
The USS Gerald R Ford, the navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, and its approximately 5,000 sailors and deck of warplanes will be accompanied by cruisers and destroyers in a show of force that is meant to be ready to respond to anything, from possibly interdicting additional weapons from reaching Hamas to conducting surveillance.
The deployment, which also includes a host of ships and warplanes, underscores the concern that the United States has in trying to deter the conflict from growing.
But the Israeli Government formally declared war on Sunday and gave the green light for “significant military steps” to retaliate against Hamas.
[ Timeline: Israel’s conflicts in the Middle-EastOpens in new window ]
[ Irish woman (22) missing after Hamas attacks rave in southern IsraelOpens in new window ]
Preliminary reports indicate that at least four American citizens were killed in the attacks and an additional seven were missing and unaccounted for, said a US official.
Most, if not all, of those reported dead or missing are dual US-Israeli citizens, the official said.
Along with the Ford, the US is sending the cruiser USS Normandy, destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt and the US is augmenting Air Force F-35, F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter aircraft squadrons in the region.
“The US maintains ready forces globally to further reinforce this deterrence posture if required,” Mr Austin said in a statement.
In addition, the Biden administration “will be rapidly providing the Israel defence forces with additional equipment and resources, including munitions. The first security assistance will begin moving today and arriving in the coming days,” Mr Austin said.
The carrier strike group was already in the Mediterranean. Last week it was conducting naval exercises with Italy in the Ionian Sea. The carrier is in its first full deployment.
US president Joe Biden and Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, in a telephone call on Sunday, discussed “the taking of hostages by Hamas terrorists, including entire families, the elderly, and young children”, according to a White House statement describing their conversation.
Mr Biden stressed that all countries “must stand united in the face of such brutal atrocities”. – AP