US Deploys Second Carrier Strike Group and Fighter Jets as Israel Prepares for Gaza Expansion

The United States is sending a second carrier strike group, the USS Eisenhower, to the Eastern Mediterranean as a deterrence measure amid concerns of foreign involvement in the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. The USS Eisenhower will join the USS Gerald Ford and other U.S. defense forces in the region. A carrier strike group is a powerful naval unit that includes an aircraft carrier, replenishment ship, cruiser, destroyers, and submarines, along with various types of aircraft. The U.S. currently maintains eleven carrier strike groups, with ten based in the United States and one in Japan. Carrier strike groups have the capability to strike targets from long distances and provide air, missile, and submarine defense.