Pentagon sends more warships to Middle East amid rising tensions

The Pentagon deployed more U.S. warships and fighter jets to the Middle East on Friday to help combat increasing tension between Israel, Iran, and the terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah.

Tensions reached new levels this week, after Hezbollah launched a strike against Israel last weekend, which killed 12 children on a soccer field. Israel has since retaliated with an airstrike in Lebanon, and an alleged strike in Tehran that killed a Hamas leader. The Lebanon strike reportedly killed an important Hezbollah leader, according to Israel.

Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said the deployment is an attempt to mitigate any future escalation by Iran or its proxies. Iran has vowed to retaliate against Israel for the attack in Tehran, but Israel has not commented on the strike.

"Since the horrific Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, the Secretary of Defense has reiterated that the United States will protect our personnel and interests in the region, including our ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel," Singh said in a statement.

"To that end, Secretary [Lloyd] Austin has ordered adjustments to U.S. military posture designed to improve U.S. force protection, to increase support for the defense of Israel, and ensure the United States is prepared to respond to various contingencies," she added. 

The actions include replacing the USS Theodore Roosevelt with the USS Abraham Lincoln, sending an additional fighter squadron to the Middle East,  and sending additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to the U.S. European Command and U.S. Central Command regions.

"As we have demonstrated since October and again in April, the United States' global defense is dynamic and the Department of Defense retains the capability to deploy on short notice to meet evolving national security threats," Singh said.

"The United States also remains intently focused on de-escalating tensions in the region and pushing for a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal to bring the hostages home and end the war in Gaza."

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.