US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin condemned Saturday's attack by Hamas and said that after a discussion with President Joe Biden, he directed steps to 'strengthen' US' posture in the region. Israel formally declared war on Hamas on Sunday.
The United States on Sunday deployed its warships and fighter jets to Israel to extend its “ironclad” support for ally Israel in the war against Palestinian group Hamas. Several American citizens have been killed in the ongoing conflict, a U.S. official confirmed to the Associated Press, while the number is not clear yet.
“My thoughts continue to be with the people of Israel and the many families who have lost loved ones as a result of the abhorrent terrorist attack by Hamas,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
“Today, in response to this Hamas attack on Israel, and following detailed discussions with President Biden, I have directed several steps to strengthen Department of Defense posture in the region to bolster regional deterrence efforts,” he added.
The US considers Hamas a designated terrorist organisation. Meanwhile, Hamas' motive behind the wars against Israel has been for the liberation of the Palestinian people.
Austin ordered the deployment of USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy's newest and most advanced aircraft carrier. Its approximately 5,000 sailors and deck of warplanes will be accompanied by cruisers and destroyers in a show of force ready to respond to anything, from possibly interdicting additional weapons from reaching Hamas and conducting surveillance.
The US is also sending the cruiser USS Normandy and destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt, and the U.S. is augmenting Air Force F-35, F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter aircraft squadrons in the region.
“The U.S. maintains ready forces globally to further reinforce this deterrence posture if required,” Austin said in a statement.
The large deployment reflects a US desire to deter any regional expansion of the conflict. But with the Israeli government formally declaring war on Sunday, it signalled the green light for “significant military steps” to retaliate against Hamas.
More than 1,000 lives have been lost on both sides since Saturday’s air strikes from Gaza. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the attack their version of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Fighting continued in southern Israel early Monday and Israel government intensified its bombardment of the Gaza Strip in retaliation to the surprise attack by Hamas. Thousands were wounded and some 123,000 displaced people in Gaza were in shelters, according to the United Nations.
US President Joe Biden and Netanyahu, in a telephone call, discussed “the taking of hostages by Hamas terrorists, including entire families, the elderly, and young children,” according to a White House statement. Biden stressed that all countries “must stand united in the face of such brutal atrocities.”
The president updated Netanyahu on U.S. diplomatic efforts and said additional assistance for Israeli forces was on the way, with more to come in the days ahead, the White House said.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting behind closed doors, with the United States demanding all 15 members strongly condemn “these heinous terrorist attacks committed by Hamas,” but it took no immediate action.