Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the USS Georgia guided missile submarine to the Middle East and told the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to speed up its voyage to the area, as Israel braces for possible retaliation over the deaths of a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut and a Hamas leader in Tehran.
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U.S. deploys missile submarine to Middle East, speeds up aircraft carrier
The deployment was announced by the U.S. Defense Department on Sunday following talks between Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The pair discussed efforts to “deter aggression” by Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, according to the readout from Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder.
Iran has blamed the killing of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh on Israel and is vowing revenge.
Meanwhile, Israel is facing growing international pressure to agree on a cease-fire deal that would bring an end to the bloody conflict and see Israeli hostages released.
An Israeli strike Saturday on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians killed nearly 100 people, according to Gazan officials, in one of the deadliest bombings of the 10-month conflict. The Israel Defense Forces said Hamas fighters had been operating in the school in Gaza City, accusing the militant group of using civilians as human shields.
Austin and Gallant talked about “the importance of mitigating civilian harm,” the readout said, and discussed progress toward a cease-fire deal. The United States and other allies are calling on Israel and Hamas to resume negotiations this week in a bid to dampen rising tensions that risk spilling over into an all-out war.
The United States is ramping up its presence in the region in response to the increased tensions, with the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Georgia headed for U.S. Central Command, which coordinates all U.S. military operations in the Middle East.
Here’s what else to know
Israel’s military said about 30 rockets were launched from Lebanon into northern Israel overnight Monday. No casualties were reported, and the IDF said it was attacking the sources of the rocket fire.
At least 39,790 people have been killed and 92,002 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 330 soldiers have been killed since the launch of its military operation in Gaza.