The Pentagon announced on Saturday that the aircraft carrier "USS Eisenhower" sailed from Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia, heading to the US military command area in Europe, as part of support for Israel, which is currently launching intensive bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
The USS Eisenhower and its warship group will join the USS Gerald Ford, which was previously deployed to the region in support of Israel following the Palestinian resistance's launch of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. dispatch of a second aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean was part of "deterring hostilities against Israel or any efforts to expand the war."
Austin added in a statement that the deployment of the warships indicates "Washington's firm commitment to Israel's security and our determination to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war."
Warning to Iran
The ABC network quoted US officials as saying that the Pentagon ordered the dispatch of the aircraft carrier Eisenhower to join the aircraft carrier Ford in the eastern Mediterranean near Israel, to deter Iran or Hezbollah from joining the conflict between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
Austin said Israel had requested ammunition and guided weapons from the United States.
He explained that his country did not ask Israel to postpone or speed up its ground operation on the Gaza Strip.
The US defense secretary added that the Palestinian people should not pay the price for Hamas's actions.
It is noteworthy that the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades and other Palestinian resistance factions have been waging since the seventh of October / October Operation Al-Aqsa flood against the Israeli occupation, and has so far killed more than 1300,<> Israelis and managed to capture large numbers, according to Israeli figures.
For its part, Israel responded by shelling homes, schools, hospitals and mosques in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 2300,<> Palestinians, mostly women and children.