US Navy ships and aircraft are headed to the Mediterranean.On Sunday, the US military began moving naval assets toward the eastern section of the Mediterranean Sea in a show of support for Israel as well as support for the evacuation of US citizens if needed.
According to MSNBC, US military officials with knowledge of the situation said the move is not a signal that the US is planning to get involved in the conflict, but to show support, and having the assets closer will make it easier to get US civilians out if the conflict grows.
The officials noted that it would take several days to move all of the assets to the region, but that they could begin the process immediately.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN on Sunday, "President Biden's direction was to make sure that we're providing Israel everything it needs in this moment to deal with the attacks from Hamas."
Blinken noted that there are reports that there were Americans killed and kidnapped by Hamas during their attack on Israel which left 250 dead and over 1,000 wounded Saturday.
"We have reports that several Americans may be among the dead," he told NBC, "We are very actively working to verify those reports. Similarly, we’ve seen reports about hostages and they’re, again, we’re very actively trying to verify them, and nail that down.”
Onward and upward,
airforce