The Gerald R. Ford and its Strike group will stay deployed in the Mediterranean longer than was initially expected as the war between Israel and Hamas ramps up, and the Pentagon takes measures to prevent a larger conflict in the zone.

Video Credits: 13News Now 

Lloyd Austin, the Defense Secretary, approved the extension for the Ford and Carrier strike group deployment, the Pentagon declared on Tuesday.

The Ford reportedly kicked off on the first-ever full deployment this year in May to the U.S. European Command waters, where it initially steamed in the western portions of the Mediterranean Sea to prevent Russia and work with the allies.

The Ford CSG reached the eastern Mediterranean on 10 October, after Austin had directed the carrier to head to the region following the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas and Israel’s retaliatory strikes.

The carrier and its support vessels were all set to start heading home in the future, and it still is unclear how long the Ford CSG will remain on the station off the Israel coast and the Gaza Strip.

In the meantime, the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower and the strike group are heading toward the region, indicating that there soon will be an armada of the two U.S. Carrier Strike Groups in the eastern Mediterranean.

The Ike was all set to be deployed before the Hamas attack; the Pentagon mentioned that the strike group would be working to prevent hostile actions against Israel or efforts toward widening the war.

The news came through as Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary, confirmed about 2,000 personnel are all set to deploy to boost the DoD’s ability to respond faster to the security environment of the Middle East.

However, Singh has said that Austin has yet to decide if the forces will deploy or not as he continues assessing the force posture. The U.S. has already shifted multiple assets in response to the conflict that has taken the lives of over 30 Americans.

The Ford’s strike group includes nearly eight squadrons of attack and support aircraft under Carrier the Air Wing 8, the destroyers Ramage, Thomas Hudner, Roosevelt, and Carney, as well as the cruiser dubbed Normandy.

With Ike are the Carrier Air Wing 3, the Philippine Sea (the cruiser), and the destroyers Mason and Gravely.

Other additional assets have been sent to enhance the presence of the U.S. in the zone. These include Air Force F-16s, F-15s, and A-10 fighter aircraft.

The boosts to the U.S. force Posture indicate the U.S.’s ironclad dedication toward Israel’s security and the resolve to deter non-state or state actors seeking to escalate the war, Austin mentioned in a statement on Saturday.

References: businessinsider, navy times

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