US deploys more warships, hundreds of marines to Israeli coast in 'show of force'

News Desk - The Cradle

Western media says the Pentagon 'wants to send a message of deterrence to Iran and Hezbollah' as it bolsters military support for Israel's ethnic cleansing campaign in the Gaza Strip

The Pentagon has deployed a US Marine rapid response unit consisting of 2,000 marines and sailors to Israeli waters, according to two US defense officials who spoke with CNN.

“[The unit] will join a growing number of US warships and forces converging on Israel as the US seeks to send a message of deterrence to Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah,” the US outlet reported on 17 October.

The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit is onboard the USS Bataan, an amphibious assault ship that can carry over 20 aircraft. It was deployed to the Red Sea in August to counter the Iranian navy in Persian Gulf waters alongside the USS Carter Hall landing ship.

“The USS Carter Hall, a dock landing ship that is operating with the USS Bataan, is also sailing toward Israel,” CNN reports.

Both warships will join two US carrier groups in the Eastern Mediterranean, the USS Gerald Ford and the USS Dwight Eisenhower. These can carry about 10,000 personnel, fighter jets, helicopters and intel, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft. 

The USS Ford also sails with the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser Normandy and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers Hudner, Ramage, Carney, and Roosevelt, all of which possess surface-to-air, surface-to-surface, and anti-submarine warfare capabilities.

On Monday, the Pentagon announced that a separate "defense force" of 2,000 service members had been put on shortened pre-deployment status.

“The Pentagon decision signaled it is preparing to support Israeli troops should Israel launch a ground incursion into Gaza. It is unclear how many of those troops, should they be deployed, would go into Israel. But the officials said that at least some of them could enter the country to support Israeli forces. A pre-deployment order doesn’t mean the troops will certainly deploy but rather shortens the time troops need to be ready to move,” Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Nancy Youssef explained.

Although Pentagon officials say the move would be aimed at “forestalling a wider regional war,” senior US lawmakers have already started pushing for direct military action to support Israel.

“If there's an escalation of this war against Israel, I'm blaming Iran, and it is now time to put them on notice,” Senator Lindsey Graham told CNN last week. When asked if Washington should “bomb Iran" even without evidence the country helped the Palestinian resistance launch Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, Graham replied: “Yeah.”

The new deployment of US forces to the Israeli coast comes as President Joe Biden is set to visit the country on 18 October.

At least 1,400 Israelis have died since the start of the daring resistance operation on 7 October. In response, Tel Aviv has launched a brutal carpet bombing campaign of the Gaza Strip, killing nearly 3,000 Palestinians – most women and children.

In response to the barbarity, Iran has warned that the Resistance Axis has its finger “on the trigger.”

Russia and China have also expressed their support for the Palestinian people and voted in favor of an immediate ceasefire at the UN Security Council on Monday. However, the US and its allies rejected the resolution, as Washington is reportedly instructing officials not to call for an “end to the bloodshed” in Gaza.