IRIA News

The U.S. Navy has moved its aircraft carrier and warships closer to Israeli shores in the eastern Mediterranean amid escalating tensions in the region after the Hamas group launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The U.S. is providing additional equipment and ammunition to the Israeli security forces to fight off the Hamas fighters, who have captured territories as well as taken more than 100 hostages after the surprise attack. The conflict has killed some 1,600 people – around 900 Israelis and more than 700 Palestinians. In retaliation for the Hamas incursion, Israel increased airstrikes on Gaza and imposed a blockade on essential supplies including food, fuel, energy, and other supplies.

Washington along with the rest of the world has shown serious concerns over the ongoing escalation of security situation in Israel and Gaza. The U.S. State Department said at least nine American citizens have been killed in the Hamas attack on Israel. 

U.S. sending most advanced aircraft carrier to support Israel

The United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the U.S. Navy warships and aircraft carriers have been sent to the region to prevent further escalation. He said that the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, a missile cruiser, and four missile destroyers were heading to the region.

The U.S. is also sending fighter jets to support its ally in the region. “We have also taken steps to augment U.S. Air Force F-35, F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter aircraft squadrons in the region,” Austin said. “In addition, the United States government will be rapidly providing the Israel Defense Forces with additional equipment and resources, including munitions. The first security assistance will begin moving today and arriving in the coming days,” he added.

USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group includes the aircraft carrier (CVN-78), the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60), as well as the Arleigh-Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), USS Ramage (DDG 61), USS Carney (DDG 64), and USS Roosevelt (DDG 80).

Preventing Iran from joining the conflict

In particular, the U.S. and Israel fear that the escalation may lead to intervention from other countries, especially Lebanon and Iran. Backed by Iran, Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah movement has joined the conflict in some capacity. The movement from the U.S. naval warships aims to send a strong message to the external forces.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, there was no direct Iranian involvement in the conflict, but that Iran had been helping the Gaza-based group for years. “Hamas wouldn’t be Hamas without the support that it’s gotten over many years from Iran,” he said during an interview as he linked the Gaza-based militant organization with Tehran. “We haven’t yet seen direct evidence that Iran was behind this particular attack or involved. But the support over many years is clear.” Blinken said.

At a UN Security Council meeting, Iran denied involvement in the attack on Israel. However, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has expressed support for the Hamas attack, saying Israel needed to be held to account for endangering the region.

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza

It has been three days since Hamas carried out its initial surprise attack and Israeli authorities are still finding bodies in the southern towns. The military says it has largely gained control in the south after the attack. Rescue workers claimed to have found more bodies in several small towns on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. At least 250 people were gunned down at the site of a music festival. Hamas is still holding more than 100 Israeli soldiers and civilians as hostages.

Israeli forces are also carrying out regular aerial raids in Gaza resulting in hundreds of deaths. Tens and thousands of Palestinians have fled their homes as relentless airstrikes leveled buildings in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli tanks and drones were deployed to guard breaches in the Gaza border fence to prevent new incursions. Thousands of Israelis were evacuated from more than a dozen towns near Gaza, and the military summoned 300,000 reservists.

Death toll

More than 1,600 people have been dead and thousands wounded on both sides in the aftermath of the Hamas and Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes. More than 900 Israelis and around 700 Palestinians have been killed amid heavy fighting and bombardment in Israel and Gaza following the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian armed group Hamas against Israel in decades.

Gaza and West Bank

• Killed: At least 721
• Injured: Some 4,000

Israel

• Killed: More than 900
• Injured: At least 2,600