US deploys another aircraft carrier to Mid-East as tensions rise

The move comes after air strikes on Israel by Yemen’s Houthis and militants in Lebanon as the conflict widens from Gaza

The Pentagon is dispatching another aircraft carrier group to the Middle East, a US official said, as tensions rise in the region following the resumption of Israeli attacks on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Fighting is again taking place on several fronts in the Middle East. US forces in the region have launched waves of airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi militia, which began firing missiles at Israel after a two-month ceasefire in Gaza broke down this week.

On Saturday, militants in Lebanon fired rockets into Israel for the first time in months, swiftly drawing Israeli airstrikes against dozens of Hezbollah-linked targets. The uptick in fighting comes after Israel carried out several days of airstrikes on Gaza and sent in ground ­forces late in the week.

Against that backdrop, the US is sending the USS Carl Vinson carrier group to the Middle East from its current position in Asia-Pacific, the official said. The USS Harry S. Truman will remain in the region and overlap for at least several weeks with the Carl Vinson, they said.

The deployment will give the US added firepower against the Houthis and ensure a continuous carrier presence in the area. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the attacks on the Houthis would escalate and that the group would be “completely annihilated”.

He also said the US would hold Iran responsible for any Houthi attacks and threatened it with unspecified consequences.

The carrier deployment was reported earlier by the Associated Press. The Houthis have carried out near-daily missile attacks on Israel this week, including one overnight. All have been intercepted by Israel’s defences.

The rockets fired from Lebanon took aim at a community in northern Israel, an unusual occurrence after months of quiet on that border. Israel’s military said it intercepted the rockets from Lebanon and responded by striking dozens of Hezbollah rocket launchers, command posts, weapons depots and other infrastructure, following directives from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “act forcefully”. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he instructed the country’s military to respond and Israel would continue to hold Lebanon responsible for militant activity emanating from its soil.

“The government of Lebanon carries the responsibility for all fire from its territory,” he said.

Hezbollah denied responsibility for the attacks from Lebanon, where it fought with Israel before being forced into a ceasefire last northern autumn.

Concerns have grown that the renewed attacks on Gaza could reignite fighting on other fronts that had been quieted in recent months. Israel launched a wave of deadly airstrikes against Hamas militants in Gaza this week, saying the group had failed to meet a demand to release the hostages it was holding there – and followed up with ground incursions and a threat to permanently occupy territory.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Saturday warned against renewed fighting, saying it could drag the country into a new war.

The Wall Street Journal