Israel-Hamas war: Israeli soldiers gear up to enter Gaza

[pieter]

[pieter]

[pieter]

[pieter]

[pieter]

[pieter]

[Jaga]

The Palestinians are now without water and shelter. Israeli were killed which is awful, but Hamas people are savages because they do not know any better. They were growing up in prison.

[karl]

Pieter

Well here we go, The Brits in as well as the Americans sending Military aid in assistance to Israel. These are not toys, but very very expensive weapons on sea and air into an area of conflict. It is of good hope that Iran stays out and keeps silent, for if one or more of these aircraft is lost to enemy forces or worse, a ship of either nation is attack and damaged, the new target will be the Gaza as the new Dresden of the last war.

With respect to this new situation, it will appear as a matter of reality, Ukraine will most likely be placed on the back burner of international concern.


"Britain to send ships and aircraft to support Israel"

Story by Danielle Sheridan •

Telegraph

Britain will send warships and aircraft to help Israel in a major show of support following the Hamas terror attacks.

Downing Street confirmed that a military package including the multi-role Poseidon (P8) aircraft as well as the Royal Navy ships RFA Argus and RFA Lyme Bay would be dispatched imminently to the eastern Mediterranean.

The P8 aircraft will start flying from Friday in order to track threats to regional stability, including the transfer of weapons to terrorist groups.

P8s are equipped with sensors and weapons systems for anti-submarine warfare, as well as surveillance and search and rescue missions.

RFA Argus acts as a floating medical facility during times of crisis or war while RFA Lyme Bay carries troops, vehicles and ammunition.

On board the ships will be three Merlin helicopters, whose primary role is to perform anti-submarine warfare, and a company of Royal Marines.

Another unspecified aircraft due to carry out surveillance will also be dispatched. It is understood that the Royal Navy task group is currently loading in Gibraltar before sailing to the Eastern Mediterranean.

The whole military package, which will be moved to the region next week, will be on standby to deliver practical support to Israel, as well as to offer deterrence and assurance.

Earlier this week Joe Biden deployed USS Gerald R. Ford, the US Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier, as well as six other ships and a number of advanced jets to the eastern Med.

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A senior military source told The Telegraph that the ships to be deployed had been chosen because they are designed to carry marines and are equipped to offer support to people in coastal regions.

“If there were people who needed evacuating from Israel ports this is a way you can man non-combatant evacuations,” they said.

However, they stressed that the UK’s involvement was not an “escalation”.

“These aren’t ships bristling with missile systems, they aren’t equipped with long=range strike missiles,” they said. “This is definitely not the UK seeking to get involved, it’s seeking to ensure it doesn’t escalate.”

The source added: “There is a very real danger now of escalation.”

The Telegraph understands that the task group was “pre-planned” and due to be travelling to the Indo-Pacific; however it was diverted from its initial path after the attacks on Israel.

The Government said the move was a significant demonstration of the UK’s support for Israel’s right to self-defence and would allow the UK to adapt to the needs of partners as the situation evolves over the coming weeks.


No 10 confirmed that the Prime Minister had also asked for all military teams across the region to be bolstered to support contingency planning and the efforts of neighbouring countries to deal with any spillover from instability in Israel.

Rishi Sunak said: “We must be unequivocal in making sure the types of horrific scenes we have seen this week will not be repeated. Alongside our allies, the deployment of our world-class military will support efforts to ensure regional stability and prevent further escalation.

“Our military and diplomatic teams across the region will also support international partners to re-establish security and ensure humanitarian aid reaches the thousands of innocent victims of this barbaric attack from Hamas terrorists.”

Meanwhile ministers including Germany’s Boris Pistorius publicly said they would help Israel, by granting an Israeli request to use two Heron TP combat drones for its counter-attack on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Mr Pistorius, Germany’s defence minister, said it stood by “Israel’s side” and it would also consider a request for ammunition for ships.

It has also been suggested that Israel has asked Germany whether it can provide flak jackets and medical supplies.

On Friday, Mr Sunak will speak to northern European leaders about the situation in Israel at the Joint Expeditionary Force summit in Sweden, where they will discuss working with partners across the Middle East to support stability and not losing focus on Ukraine.

Mr Sunak will also visit British warship HMS Diamond while in Gotland, Sweden, which is on patrol in northern Europe to reinforce security in the region. While on board, the Prime Minister will hear about the capabilities of Diamond’s sister ship, HMS Duncan, which is deployed in the Mediterranean with Nato.

Karl

[karl]

It appears in reality of events, that the Americans are becoming quite serious in response to this current event as follows:


Another US Navy carrier strike group is heading to waters near Israel, where it'll join a large amount of American firepower already there

Story by [e-mail] (Jake Epstein) •
28m

© US Navy/Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Brennen Easter/Handout via REUTERS

The Pentagon ordered a second US Navy carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean.
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and several other vessels will join a group of ships already in the area.
The US says its force posture is meant to support Israel and prevent the war with Hamas from spreading.
The Pentagon has dispatched a second US Navy carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean in a move that will deliver additional American firepower to the waters near Israel as fears mount that its war with Hamas could worsen and spiral into a regional conflict.


The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is moving into the area "as part of our effort to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas's attack on Israel," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement on Saturday. The strike group includes the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea, and guided-missile destroyers USS Gravely and USS Mason.

"The increases to US force posture signal the United States' ironclad commitment to Israel's security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war," Austin said.

USS Eisenhower and its accompanying surface ships left the US on Friday as part of a regularly scheduled deployment to participate in exercises in the US European Command (USEUCOM) area of responsibility which, in addition to Europe, includes parts of Asia, the Middle East, and the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.

Washington was reportedly considering sending the Eisenhower's carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean earlier this week, but no formal decision had been made at that time.

The Eisenhower and its escort ships will join the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which arrived on Tuesday after it was deployed to the region in response to last weekend's brutal Hamas terror attacks in Israel. That strike group — a massive display of firepower — includes the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy, and the guided-missile destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt.

The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) transits the Atlantic Ocean during Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7's fly-off. US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ryan D. McLearnon/Released

The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) transits the Atlantic Ocean during Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7's fly-off. US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ryan D. McLearnon/R
© US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ryan D. McLearnon/Released
Israel's war against the Hamas militant group — which has been going for a week now — has spread fears that the bloodshed could expand into a regional conflict and draw in Iran or another one of its proxies, like Lebanon's Hezbollah (both Hamas and Hezbollah are designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the US State Department). White House and Pentagon officials have said that the movement of carrier strike groups is meant to prevent this from happening.

"The arrival of these highly capable forces to the region is a strong signal of deterrence should any actor hostile to Israel consider trying to take advantage of this situation," said Gen. Michael Kurilla, the commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), said in a statement this week.

US Navy ships aren't the only NATO military assets sent out in response to the Israel-Hamas war. The US has augmented existing airpower in the area with additional F-15, F-16 and A-10 aircraft, and Britain deployed several naval ships, surveillance aircraft, and a company of Royal Marines on Thursday to the eastern Mediterranean.

Tensions across the Middle East skyrocketed after the initial Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7, which killed at least 1,300 people — mostly civilians — and injured more than 3,200 others, according to the latest figures. In response to the attacks, Israel immediately began bombing what it has said are Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip, killing over 2,200 people and injuring nearly 9,000, according to the United Nations.

Israel's military says the relentless aerial campaign — which has resulted in civilian casualties and turned entire neighborhoods to rubble — is a precursor to an imminent ground invasion of the coastal enclave as a means to completely crush Hamas. In preparation for this, the country on Thursday ordered everyone in northern Gaza to evacuate to the south.

UN and human rights organization officials expressed serious alarm and concern over the development and the offensive, urging immediate de-escalation to prevent an already dire humanitarian situation from getting worse.

Karl

[pieter]

Eisenhower once said that brutality does not bring peace...