US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin today ordered the presence of two carrier strike groups in the Middle East after the exchange of massive strikes between Israel and the Lebanese movement "Hezbollah" early this morning, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
The agency notes that the United States is increasing its military forces in the Middle East amid rising tensions in the region. The US defense secretary announced the change in plans in a phone call with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant this evening.
Initially, the group of the aircraft carrier "Abraham Lincoln" to replace that of "Theodore Roosevelt". Instead, both aircraft carriers will remain in the Middle East. In a televised address earlier today, the leader of "Hezbollah" Hassan Nasrallah admitted that the operation of the Lebanese movement against Israel has been delayed due to the mobilization of American and Israeli military forces in the region.
The most senior American military has meanwhile arrived on a visit to Israel. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US General Charles Brown is expected to meet with the chiefs of the Israeli armed forces. Brown was received by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi earlier today, before visiting Jordan.
The exchange of blows between Israel and "Hezbollah" caused concern about the escalation of the conflict that broke out in the Middle East with the attack of the Palestinian Islamist movement "Hamas" against the Jewish state on October 7. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tonight called on Israel and the Lebanese group to immediately end hostilities. The exchange of strikes "puts the populations of both Lebanon and Israel at risk, and also threatens regional security and stability," Guterres spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.