US to send more warships and fighter jets to protect Israel from Iran’s retaliation

The Pentagon said on Friday the United States is set to boost forces in the Middle East in response to threats from Iran and Iran-backed factions targeting Israelis. 

 This came after Biden held a telephone call with the chairman of Israel’s central government, Benjamin Netanyahu, and informed him about Washington’s strategies to support Israel in the event of an attack. The Biden administration also supports lessening tensions in the area and pausing the fighting in Gaza. 

 The US Defense Secretary has instructed a change to the US military’s positioning to increase its protection and support for Israel and be prepared for different situations, as stated by the Pentagon’s Sabrina Singh. 

 These changes involve increasing the number of warships that can track ballistic missiles and fighter planes in the Middle East and Europe. Current US military facilities in the area and ships like the USS Wasp, an amphibious assault ship, are ready for more specific instant response and evacuations if needed. 

 The US increases its military presence at a time when Iran and related militant organizations may want to strike back for the recent assassinations of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hizbollah senior military officer Fuad Shukr in Lebanon. While Israel has admitted to an airstrike in Beirut that led to Shukr’s death, it has not admitted to involving itself in the assassination of Haniyeh. 

 The Biden–Netanyahu talk further touched on “measures to bolster Israel’s preparedness to defend against threats such as ballistic missiles and drones, which entails new US military postures.” Austin similarly talked to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant about the Iranian threats and on further measures that the US is willing to provide in support of Israel. However, the situation does not have to worsen. 

 But Biden further reassured that he would do everything possible for Israel’s security while at the same time seeking a ceasefire agreement for Palestinians in Gaza. 

“We now have the framework for ceasing hostilities. They should do it immediately,” Biden told the media at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. 

 He pointed out that the assassination of Haniyeh has delayed the chances of getting to a deal with Hamas where there could be peace between Israel and Gaza, the release of the Israeli hostages who are held captive as well as the prevention of other larger-scale operations in the region. 

 British Defense Secretary John Healey is in Israel now, coming from Doha and Beirut for the express purpose of reining in the conflict. It became known that to repel Iran’s actions, more than 150 missiles and UAVs were launched, and for the first time, the American, British, and other regional allies provided successful air defence for Israel in April. Earlier this month, an Israeli Air Force jet attacked an Iranian base in Syria on what was, in all probability, a reconnaissance mission. 

 Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari noted that with this threat of a possible multifaceted Iranian attack on Israel, the international partners have boosted the forces in this region to support Israel. He affirmed the capacity of Israel with threats in both defensive and offensive in the case when powerfully attacked. 

 Allying with Hamas, Hizbollah started the aggression north of Israel as a response to Hamas’s instigation on October 7 as the beginning of the Gaza war and Israel’s counterattack. Encounters between Israel and Hizbollah grew closer daily than after a rocket attack on the occupied Golan Heights, killing twelve children and teenagers in the settlement, an act that led to more acts of target assassinations by Israel on Shukr in Beirut. 

 Nasrallah vowed substantial reprisal during Shukr’s funeral while implying that the conflict was not merely local but instead tied to the Gaza war going by the region’s context. “This is an open war, and this is declared on all the fronts… a new phase,” said the man and implied that further escalation is contingent on Israel’s actions.