According to experts, the arrival of aircraft carriers in the Eastern Mediterranean is probably aimed at preventing Iran from intervening in the Gaza conflict.
During the conflict in Gaza, which has lasted more than two weeks, the United States has moved a large amount of its military equipment to the Middle East.
Two aircraft carriers, USS Gerald Ford and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, have been ordered to move to the eastern Mediterranean. Both are escorted by missile destroyers and cruisers, which alone are capable of significant military strikes.
The support ships and their escorts have a total of about 15,000 soldiers. In addition, the Pentagon has put more than 2,000 Marines on standby, says news site Axios.
The US aircraft fleet has also strengthened in the Middle East. The United States has already had F-16 and F-35 fighters at the Muwaffaq Salt Air Base in Jordan to monitor the Persian Gulf region in particular.
Over the weekend, F15 Strike Eagle bombers and A-10 attack planes suitable for ground attacks were sent to Jordan. Both arrived at Muwaffaq Salt in a squadron, i.e. 20–30 planes, says Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
American and British RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance planes also fly in the vicinity of Israel, whose task is to monitor, for example, message traffic.
The US is gaining time
According to Haaretz newspaper the last time an increase in American forces of similar magnitude was seen in the Middle East was in 2014. At that time, the United States assembled a coalition that went to war against the ISIS terrorist organization.
This time, the purpose of the US is to show that it supports Israel. At the same time, they want to convince Israel’s leadership that it is not necessary to immediately wage a ground war against the Hamas organization that controls Gaza, according to the Haaretz magazine.
The United States hopes that a large show of force can pressure Hamas to negotiate the release of the hostages it has taken.
The tactic has apparently worked. So far, Israel has not launched a major ground attack on Gaza, and two American hostages have been released.
The Israeli leadership apparently believes that the blockade and bombing of Gaza, which of course make the conditions of the population even worse, work in Israel’s favor. Israel must also be prepared for the Hezbollah extremist organization operating in Lebanon to expand its attacks on Israel.
– Nothing is lost if the ground operation is delayed. Every day benefits us and hurts Hamas. The more time passes, the less the air force is needed in Gaza, so they can be moved to the north, said a former Israeli security adviser in an interview with the Kan television channel on Sunday Yaakov Amidror.
Iran’s threat still great
In any case, experts believe that Israel will launch a ground attack on Gaza sooner or later.
Iran has threatenedthat it would not hesitate to fire its missiles at the Israeli coastal city of Haifa if Israel launched an attack.
All parties are now preparing for the possibility that the conflict will expand. The United States has brought more anti-missile equipment to Israel.
At the same time, the United States and Israel are preparing for Iran to order the rebel groups it supports to carry out even bigger attacks against them.
The Hezbollah organization is constantly firing grenades from southern Lebanon into Israel, to which Israel responds with airstrikes. US bases in Iraq have been targeted by missile attacks. Authors is believed to be Iran’s supporters in Iraq.
In the United States, the missile attack that took place last Thursday caused the most commotion. The US guided missile destroyer USS Carney, sailing in the Red Sea, repelled numerous cruise missiles and drones fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The Houthis, backed by Iran, are waging a war against the Yemeni government and Saudi Arabia.
The public speculated that the strike was aimed at the ship, but naval warfare experts consider it possible, that the missiles were headed for Israel’s southern coastal city of Eilat. Eilat’s population has tripled in recent days, as people have been evacuated there from the Gaza border, he says Haaretz.
The continuation of the conflict now depends on how much risk the parties are willing to take and how much suffering they are willing to inflict on the civilian population.