In a significant military response, the US has deployed 12 warships to the Middle East as tensions escalate following the assassinations of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and Hezbollah’s military commander Fouad Shukr in Beirut.
A Pentagon official disclosed to The Washington Post that this deployment includes American destroyers in the Gulf and the Eastern Mediterranean, featuring the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and amphibious assault teams, along with over 4,000 Marines and sailors.
As reported by The Washington Post, the US has redirected several warships from the Red Sea—previously engaged against Houthi forces in Yemen—to the Gulf and Mediterranean in light of the heightened regional tensions.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reports that Israel has, through Western and regional intermediaries, warned Hezbollah that any major attack would trigger a war.
Israel intends to target combatants rather than infrastructure supporting combat efforts, urging Hezbollah to adopt a similar approach in its operations.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on all parties to halt escalatory actions, a message reportedly aimed at Israel following the deaths of Shukr and Haniyeh.
Blinken emphasized that the current trajectory is leading to “more conflict, more violence, more suffering, and more insecurity,” highlighting the importance of breaking this cycle starting with a ceasefire in Gaza.
Speaking to reporters in Mongolia, Blinken stressed that achieving a ceasefire requires the parties to cease actions that escalate tensions and find reasons to agree on a settlement rather than delaying or rejecting it.
