US sending second aircraft carrier ‘to deter hostile actions against Israel’

The United States deployed a second aircraft carrier “to deter hostile actions against Israel” while President Joe Biden pushed for the protection of civilians amid the American ally’s siege and bombardment of Gaza.

The presence of the USS Dwight D Eisenhower and its affiliated warships in the eastern Mediterranean signals Washington’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war,” Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said in a statement on Saturday.

The strike group includes a guided-missile cruiser and three guided-missile destroyers.

The Eisenhower joins the USS Gerald R Ford carrier strike group which arrived earlier in the week “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 US government has made it clear that the warships were not to take part in combat operations, but only serve as a deterrent to Hezbollah, Iran or others from taking advantage of the situation.

US Navy ships aren’t the only Nato military assets sent out in response to the Israel-Hamas war.

Israel says bodies of hostages taken by Hamas found in Gaza

The US has augmented existing air power in the area with additional F-15, F-16 and A-10 aircraft, and Britain deployed several naval ships, surveillance aircraft, and a company of Royal Marines on Thursday to the eastern Mediterranean.

The US Air Force already has significant air power in the region to conduct manned and unmanned operations, most notably in Syria where an US Air Force F-16 this month was ordered to shoot down a Turkish drone that was posing a threat to US ground forces.

The US is also providing some personnel and much-needed munitions to Israel. Austin announced that a small special operations cell was now assisting Israel with intelligence and planning, and providing advice and consultations to the Israeli Defence Forces on hostage recovery efforts.

Those forces, however, have not been tasked with hostage rescue, which would put them on the ground fighting in the conflict.

The US is also getting US defence companies to expedite weapons orders by Israel that were already on the books. Chief among those are munitions for Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system.

The powerful show of support came as Israel appeared poised for a ground offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza.

More than one million people in the northern part of the crowded enclave have been ordered to flee ahead of the expected assault, an exodus that aid groups said would set off a humanitarian disaster.

Israel has also cut off food, water and electricity supplies to Gaza’s 2.4 million people.

Biden spoke on the phone Saturday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “affirmed his support for all efforts to protect civilians,” the White House said in a statement, which did not specifically mention Gaza.

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“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,” the White House said.

Biden also spoke with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas for the first time since hostilities broke out a week ago and “condemned Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel”.

“Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination,” Biden told Abbas, according to a White House statement.

Biden in the call also pledged “full support” to the Palestinian Authority in its efforts to bring humanitarian assistance to Palestinians, “particularly in Gaza,” the statement said.

A week of deadly Israeli salvoes was sparked by a Hamas raid which saw fighters break through the heavily fortified border between the Gaza Strip and Israel and gun down, stab and burn to death more than 1,300 people.

In Gaza, health officials said Israel’s response had killed more than 2,200 people. As on the Israeli side, most of them were civilians.

Austin also stressed the protection of civilians in a call with Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant.

“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,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

Agence France-Presse, Associated Press and dpa