The Pentagon is sending a group of over 4,000 American sailors towards Israel
The Amphibious Ready Group will be positioned on war ships off the coast of Israel in case the conflict there with Hamas escalates.
According to The Washington Post:
The United States is sending an amphibious task force of thousands of
U.S. sailors and Marines toward Israel, where they will be positioned
aboard warships in case the conflict there with Hamas expands.
Two
defense officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss
planned military movements, said Monday night that the Bataan Amphibious
Ready Group, numbering more than 4,000 sailors and Marines, will join a
growing American fleet off the coast of Israel that will include two
aircraft carriers and their associated escort ships.
The 26th
Marine Expeditionary Unit, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., is deployed with
the amphibious task force. The Marine unit is trained for a wide array
of missions, including some special operations. The USS Bataan and the
USS Carter Hall, two of the warships carrying personnel for the unit,
were in the Gulf of Oman on Monday, having left Kuwait recently after
Hamas’s unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
The
third ship associated with the unit, the USS Mesa Verde, was in the
Mediterranean Sea and was to head near the Israeli shore, defense
officials said.