Exclusive: US to send 2nd aircraft carrier to eastern MediterraneanThe Pentagon has ordered a second aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean near Israel to deter Iran or Hezbollah from joining the Israel-Hamas conflict, according to U.S. officials. A senior US official and a US official told ABC News that the USS Eisenhower carrier strike group will be ordered to the eastern Mediterranean to join the USS Gerald R Ford carrier strike group that arrived there earlier this week and is in international waters off of Israel. "I have directed the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (CSG) to begin moving to the Eastern Mediterranean," said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in a statement confirming the deployment. The Eisenhower strike group includes the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower and the guided missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58), and the guided missile destroyers USS Laboon (DDG-58), USS Mason (DDG-87) and USS Gravely (DDG-107). Exclusive: US to send 2nd aircraft carrier to eastern Mediterranean originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Source: ABC News October 14, 2023 22:35 UTC