US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel on Friday and was briefed by Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and senior IDF officers.
The U.S continues to concentrate forces in the middle east to be ready to a situation where Iran or one of its proxies joins the fighting with the Hamas terror organization in Gaza.
As part of an escalation in American forces in the Middle East following Hamas’ terror strikes on Israel on October 7, a squadron of US Air Force A-10 Warthogs has already landed in the area , and more are anticipated to do so this week, a senior defence official told reporters on Thursday.
A-10, F-15, and F-16 aircraft were added to the U.S. Central Command’s (CENTCOM) deployment to its theater of operations on October 8. The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group arrived in the Eastern Mediterranean on Tuesday.
On Oct. 13 The Hamas launched a long range rocket in order to hit targets in Northern Israel.
The Israeli airforce Savid ‘s Sling air defence system intercepted the heavy long range missile.
