A sailor directs an F/A-18E Super Hornet on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Photo: US Navy
THE US is preparing to send a carrier strike group and aircraft to the Middle East to help protect Israel from Iranian retaliation.
Pentagon press spokesman Major-General Pat Ryder confirmed that the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group is being sent to the region.
He says US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin III has also ordered the deployment of more missile defence destroyers, fighter and tanker aircraft, and US Air Force B-52 long-range strike bombers to the region.
The deployments come on top of a recent decision to deploy a high-altitude missile defence system to Israel as well as an amphibious marine unit to the eastern Mediterranean.
“Secretary Austin makes clear that should Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region, the United States will take every measure necessary to defend our people,” Maj-Gen Pat Ryder says.
Just 24 hours before-hand, Austin III spoke with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to discuss regional de-escalation, the Pentagon says.
Austin reaffirmed the US commitment to a diplomatic solution in Lebanon to allow Lebanese and Israeli civilians to return safely to homes and that the US will continue to push Israel over a ceasefire deal.
Israel recently attacked military sites in Iran, prompting feats of a regional escalation of violence.
GAZA UPDATE
Meanwhile, Gaza’s health ministry says an Israeli drone struck a clinic in northern Gaza where children were being vaccinated against polio, a claim Israel’s military denied.
The incident, which occurred on Sunday during a pause in fighting, wounded six people, including four children.
The World Health Organisation and UNICEF, which are carrying out the vaccination campaign, both expressed concern over the reported strike.
“Today’s attack occurred while the humanitarian pause was still in effect, despite assurances given that the pause would be respected from 6am to 4pm,” UNICEF spokesperson Rosalia Bollen told international media outlets.
She described the incident as “disturbing”.
Polio, once eradicated thanks to almost all children in Gaza being vaccinated, has been detected again in the occupied territory.
An Israeli military spokesperson said Israel “did not strike in the area at the specified time”.
