Citing U.S. officials an exclusive report by abcnews.go.com said:The 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. A senior U.S. official and a U.S. 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 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. “Those adversaries should think twice.”Having the USS Eisenhower joining the USS Ford will increase the show of force enhancing that message of deterrence. The USS Ford strike group arrived in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean on Tuesday and in addition to the carrier includes the cruiser USS Normandy, destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney and USS Roosevelt.

Source: ABC News October 15, 2023 07:51 UTC