As the Gaza siege continues, the US sends a second aircraft carrier to ‘deter’ hostile actions against Israel
In response to Israel’s blockade and shelling of Gaza, the US has sent a second aircraft carrier to the region “to deter hostile actions against Israel”. This powerful demonstration of support came as Israel seemed prepared to launch a ground operation against Hamas in Gaza.
The USS Eisenhower’s deployment to the eastern Mediterranean demonstrates Washington’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war,” according to a statement from US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
“As part of our effort to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’s attack,” Austin said, the Eisenhower joins the USS Ford carrier strike group that had arrived earlier in the week. A mass migration that aid organizations said would result in a humanitarian catastrophe has been authorized for more than a million residents of the congested enclave’s northern section.
Israel has also shut off Gaza’s 2.4 million residents’ access to food, water, and power. In a phone chat with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, US President Joe Biden “affirmed his support for all efforts to protect civilians,” according to a statement from the White House that didn’t directly reference 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,” according to a statement from the White House. For the first time since hostilities started a week ago, Biden also talked with Mahmud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, and “condemned Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel.”
According to a statement from the White House, Biden informed Abbas that Hamas “does not support the right of the Palestinian people to dignity and self-determination.” According to the statement, Biden also promised “full support” in the phone conversation to the Palestinian Authority’s initiatives to provide humanitarian relief to Palestinians, “particularly in Gaza,”
A Hamas assault that saw fighters breach the tightly guarded border between the Gaza Strip and Israel and kill more than 1,300 people with guns, knives, and fires set off a week of deadly Israeli counterattacks. Health authorities in Gaza said that more than 2,200 people had died as a result of Israel’s retaliation. Most of them were civilians, much as on the Israeli side.
In a phone chat with his Israeli colleague Yoav Gallant, Austin also emphasized the need to safeguard people. “He discussed the importance of adhering to the law of war, including civilian protection obligations, and addressing the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza while Israel continues its operations to restore security,” according to a statement released by the Pentagon.
