Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday that he has ordered the US strike group aircraft carrier ford sail to the eastern Mediterranean to be ready to help Israel after the attack Hamaswhich unleashed a conflict that has left more than a thousand dead on both sides.
The Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, and its approximately 5,000 sailors and its fighter bridge will be accompanied by cruisers and destroyers in a show of force intended to be ready for any eventuality, including the possibility of intercepting weapons destined for Hamas and surveillance work.
The huge deployment, which also includes a number of ships and fighter jets, highlights the United States’ concern to try to deter conflict. But the Israeli government formally declared war on Sunday and gave the green light to implement “significant military steps” in retaliation to Hamas.
Preliminary reports indicate that at least four Americans were killed in the attacks and seven others are missing, according to a US official.
The figure is constantly changing and could change again as more inquiries are made, added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss initial reports received by the US embassy in Jerusalem. Most, if not all, of those presumed dead and missing are dual Israeli-American nationals, he added.
Along with the aircraft carrier Ford, the United States will dispatch the cruiser Normandy and the destroyers Thomas Hudner, Ramage, Carney and Roosevelt, and increase the presence of squadrons of F-35, F-15, F-16 and A-10 fighter aircraft in the region.
“The United States maintains forces ready around the world to reinforce this deterrence posture if necessary,” Austin said in a statement.
Additionally, President Joe Biden’s administration “will quickly provide the Israel Defense Forces with additional equipment and resources, including ammunition. “The first assistance package will leave today and will arrive in the coming days,” Austin said.
The aircraft carrier strike group, based in Norfolk, Virginia, is already in the area. Last week he was carrying out naval maneuvers with Italy in the Ionian Sea. The aircraft carrier is on its first mission.
In a phone call on Sunday, Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed “the taking of hostages by Hamas terrorists, including entire families, elderly people and young children”, according to a White House statement describing their conversation. Biden emphasized that all countries “They must remain united in the face of such brutal atrocities.”
Source: AP
Source: Gestion
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