US President Joe Biden, according to a White House statement, has “directed additional support” in the form of warships and a strike team for Israel.
According to Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, a US Navy carrier strike group and warships are on their way to the eastern Mediterranean Sea as Israel prepares for a large-scale campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
According to the ship’s social media, the USS Gerald R. Ford, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was cruising alongside the Italian Navy earlier this week, near Israel.
The carrier will be accompanied by two other types of Navy warships: guided missile destroyers and guided missile cruisers.
The US is also taking moves to increase its fighter jet presence in the region, including squadrons of the F-35, F-15, F-16, and A-10.
It has dispatched many of these aircraft to the Middle East in recent months in reaction to Iranian aggressiveness throughout the area, especially in Syria and the Gulf of Oman.
The Israelis have also attracted solidarity from British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday that Britain was standing with Israel “unequivocally” following the attacks by Hamas and that London was working to ensure the world speaks in one voice.
Sunak’s Downing Street office said in a statement following a phone call between the two leaders that the prime minister offered Prime Minister Netanyahu any support Israel needed. ”
According to an Israel Defence Forces spokesperson, Israeli troops have killed hundreds of Hamas fighters, injured thousands more, and captured scores more.
