The U.S. has significantly increased its military presence in the Middle East in the nearly three weeks after Hamas launched attacks against Israel and took hundreds of hostages on Oct. 7. Among other things, the Pentagon has deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups as well as a range of fighter aircraft to the region.
Oct. 24:
The Pentagon announced that the U.S. is sending an additional squadron of F-16 fighter jets to the Middle East to “further enhance the ability of U.S. forces to defend themselves.” The Department of Defense also noted that it has put a variety of units on “prepare-to-deploy orders” ahead of potential future movement of troops to the region. “Our message to any country or group thinking about trying to take advantage of this situation to widen the conflict is: Don’t,” warned Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder. On the same day, the military confirmed that 24 U.S. personnel had been injured in at least 13 attacks in Syria and Iraq since October 17.
Oct. 23:
The U.S. sent a Marine general and several other military officers to Israel in order to advise the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on their ongoing campaign of airstrikes in Gaza, according to Axios. The American officers are not expected to remain in Israel following the invasion of Gaza, the report continued. Läs artikel