US sending second aircraft carrier to Mediterranean to back Israeli onslaught on Gaza
The United States is sending a second aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean to support the Israeli regime in its war against Gaza.
The deployment of the USS Eisenhower and its affiliated warships in the eastern Mediterranean signals Washington’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement on Saturday.
Austin added that the USS Eisenhower joins the USS Ford carrier strike group which arrived earlier in the week claiming that it is part of the effort to “deter hostile actions” against Israel or “any efforts toward widening this war” following Hamas’s Operation Al-Aqsa Strom.
The deployment of the ships takes place as the Israeli regime makes preparations for a ground invasion of Palestinian homes in Gaza.
Millions of Palestinian people in the besieged Gaza have been forced to flee ahead of the expected assault, an exodus that aid groups said would set off a humanitarian disaster.
The Israeli regime has also cut off food, water, medicine, internet and electricity to Gaza’s 2.3 million people.
On the same day as the announcement came, US President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reiterating Washington’s support.
Biden “affirmed his support for all efforts to protect civilians,” the White House said in a statement, which did not specifically mention Gaza.
“President Biden discussed with prime minister Netanyahu US coordination with the United Nations, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, and others in the region to ensure innocent civilians have access to water, food, and medical care.”
The US president also spoke with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmud Abbas for the first time since hostilities broke out a week ago and condemned Hamas's operation.
As the Israeli regime is continuing its relentless artillery gun fire and airstrikes on Gaza, health officials say more than 2,300 people have been killed, most of them children.
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