By Deutsche Welle
Aug 12, 2024, 02:01 AM EDT
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the deployment of a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East and reiterated the Biden administration’s commitment to defending Israel, the Pentagon said.
The order came amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran over the deaths of a leader of Hamas, considered a terrorist group by several countries, and a Hezbollah commander.
Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder said in a statement that Austin spoke to him on Sunday, August 11, where he reiterated the United States’ commitment “to take all possible measures to defend Israel.”
US commitment to Israel
Austin also highlighted the strengthening of U.S. military posture and capabilities across the Middle East “in light of rising regional tensions.” Part of that commitment is the deployment of the guided-missile submarine USS Georgia to the region.
Austin also ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, equipped with F-35C fighter jets, to expedite its transit to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, adding to the response capability already provided by the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Last week, the Pentagon had said the Lincoln would arrive in the area by the end of the month.
Tensions between Iran and Israel escalated on July 31, when an attack – not claimed or denied by Israel – killed the former leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, while he was visiting Tehran.
Attack on school in Gaza
Since then, and given that hours earlier an Israeli bombing in Beirut killed Hezbollah’s number two, Fuad Shukr, the Middle East has been waiting for Iranian or Hezbollah retaliation against Israeli territory for both attacks.
Austin spoke about Israel’s operations in Gaza and the importance of mitigating harm to civilians, after more than 100 people were killed on Saturday, August 10, when the Israeli army bombed a school in the north of the Strip, which served as a shelter for displaced people by the war, according to the Hamas group, which controls the Palestinian enclave.
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