WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid the growing tension in the Middle East, and pressure from the United States and other allies for Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, ordered a guided-missile submarine to head to the region and directed the aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln to sail faster to the area.
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Fears of a military escalation in the area grew following the assassinations of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a Hezbollah commander in Beirut.
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The authorities were on alert for retaliatory attacks from both Iran and Hezbollah for the assassinations, and the United States has been increasing its presence in the region.
Why did the United States send an aircraft carrier to the Middle East?
Austin spoke earlier on Sunday with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and reiterated the US commitment to "take any possible measure to defend Israel and pointed to the strengthening of the US military position throughout the Middle East in light of the growing regional tensions," said Major General Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, in a statement.
The Lincoln, which was in the Asia-Pacific region, already had orders to head to the area to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group, which is scheduled to begin the journey home from the Middle East. Austin said last week that the Lincoln would arrive in the Central Command region by the end of the month.
On Sunday, it was not clear what the new order entailed or what difference it would make in the speed of the Lincoln. The aircraft carrier has F-35 fighters on board, as well as F/A-18 aircraft.
Ryder also did not say how quickly the guided missile submarine USS Georgia would arrive in the region.
He pointed out that Austin and Gallant had also commented on the Israeli military operations in Gaza and the importance of mitigating harm to civilians.
The call was made the day after an Israeli airstrike on a school converted into a shelter in Gaza early Saturday, which killed at least 80 people and injured nearly 50 more, according to Palestinian health authorities, in one of the deadliest attacks in the 10 months of war between Israel and Hamas.