US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced that US Navy is sending a naval air group to the eastern Mediterranean to support Israel in its conflict with Hamas and its allies on Sunday, October 8. He also announced that it was delivering additional munitions to Tel Aviv.
Fighting is still raging between the Israeli army and hundreds of Hamas fighters who have infiltrated from the Gaza Strip, claiming several hundred victims on both sides, the majority of them civilians. The United States announced additional military aid for Israel, and began supplying weapons and ammunition on Sunday.
Washington has sent a carrier battle group and ammunition to help “protect the Israeli people”, according to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The first shipment was due to arrive in Israel on Sunday.
In a statement, he explained that the assistance was ordered by US President Joe Biden “following the unprecedented terrorist attack by Hamas” on Israel.
The aid was confirmed by the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, who had earlier announced that Washington would give details of this new military assistance to Israel as early as Sunday. According to the Israeli media outlet Haaretz, the United States would be bringing its military ships and aircraft closer to Israel as a sign of support.
In statements to the press, Mr. Biden reiterated his unstinting support for Israel. He also warned against “any party hostile to Israel” seeking to profit from the conflict, in a thinly veiled reference to Iran.
Security Council meeting
As hostilities continue, the United Nations Security Council is meeting on Sunday evening, at the call of Brazil, to “avoid an escalation between Palestinians and Israelis”. Israel, which officially declared war on Hamas on Saturday, has already announced that it will call for a resolution condemning the actions of this Palestinian group.
Israel currently has no vote in the Security Council, nor does Palestine, in its capacity as an observer state, not a member of the United Nations. The UN Security Council is currently made up of Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to the five permanent members: France, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Many countries expressed their solidarity with Israel, accusing Hamas of provoking hostilities by carrying out “terrorist” actions on Israeli territory. Some, on the contrary, applauded the “Palestinian resistance” and the strategic defeat it had imposed on the “Israeli occupier”. Despite their differences, the majority of countries called for de-escalation and restraint.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for diplomatic efforts to prevent the conflict from spreading, reminding us that “only negotiations aimed at implementing a two-state solution (to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) can lead to peace”. UN human rights chief Volker Türk called for an immediate halt to the violence, urging all parties to defuse the tension and avoid further “bloodshed”.
Sami Erchoff, with AFP
