The US will send warships and fighter jets to the Middle East to help defend Israel amid growing fears of a conflict with Iran and its proxies.
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said navy cruisers and destroyers – which can shoot down ballistic missiles – as well as fighter jets, would be deployed to the region to support Israel.
The intervention by the US comes after Iran vowed to exact “harsh punishment” on Israel following the suspected assassination of Hamas’s chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in a blast in Tehran on Thursday.
The death of the 62-year-old came just hours after Israel claimed it had killed top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in an airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, in the same week. Gaza’s Hamas and Hezbollah (which controls southern Lebanon) form part of Iran’s “axis of resistance” – which opposes Western and Israeli influence in the region.
This story is from the August 04, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the August 04, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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