U.S. sending carrier strike group to support Israel

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday that he has ordered a strike group led by the USS Gerald R. Ford to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean. Austin deployed the carrier group in support of Israel after the attack by Hamas that has led to more than 1,000 deaths on the two sides since the conflict began over the weekend. The carrier group was already in the Mediterranean for an unrelated naval exercise, so the Ford and the rest of the ships will arrive within a few days.

What does the strike group consist of? The United States is sending the cruiser USS Normandy along with the Ford, as well as four destroyers and Air Force fighter aircraft squadrons. The U.S. government will also provide Israel with equipment and resources, including weapons, Austin said in a Sunday statement.

Dig deeper: Listen to Mary Reichard’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about the U.S. military’s readiness.