US President Joe Biden has ordered the deployment of US ships and warplanes to the eastern Mediterranean in a show of support for Israel which is currently engaged in a fierce conflict with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
The US Pentagon has announced that the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its accompanying warships will be sent to the region, along with additional fighter aircraft squadrons.
This deployment comes after Israel was hit by a surprise attack from Hamas on Saturday, which resulted in hundreds of casualties on both sides.
The United States is a major supplier of arms to Israel, and has moved quickly to affirm its support for the country in the wake of the recent attacks.
President Biden has vowed "rock solid" support for Israel, and has warned other parties to stay out of the conflict.
In a statement, the White House said that Biden had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and "conveyed that additional assistance for the Israeli Defence Forces is now on its way to Israel with more to follow over the coming days."
The statement also said that the leaders discussed "ongoing efforts to ensure that no enemies of Israel believe they can or should seek advantage from the current situation."
President Biden has also "pledged his full support for the Government and people of Israel in the face of an unprecedented and appalling assault by Hamas terrorists."
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is currently in its worst escalation in decades, and has claimed the lives of more than 600 people on the Israeli side and 370 people on the Palestinian side.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has said that the country is prepared for a long war ahead, and has deployed tens of thousands of Israeli forces to battle holdout Hamas forces and prepare for a possible Gaza ground offensive.
The US movement of ships and planes and the aid to Israel "underscores the United States’ ironclad support for the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli people."
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier that Biden ordered his administration to give Israel "everything it needs at this moment to deal with the attacks from Hamas."
A number of Americans may also have been taken hostage, Blinken said.
He told ABC that "this is a massive terrorist attack that is gunning down Israeli civilians in their towns, in their homes, and as we’ve seen so graphically, literally dragging people across the border with Gaza. "So, you can imagine the impact this is having throughout Israel. And the world should be revolted at what it has seen."
