WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (TASS) - US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered to deploy additional forces to the Middle East, including destroyers, fighter jets and long-range strike bombers, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said.

"In keeping with our commitments to the protection of US citizens and forces in the Middle East, the defense of Israel, and de-escalation through deterrence and diplomacy, the Secretary of Defense ordered the deployment of additional ballistic missile defense destroyers, fighter squadron and tanker aircraft, and several US Air Force B-52 long-range strike bombers to the region," he said in a statement.

Ryder added that these forces will begin to arrive in the Middle East in coming months as the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group prepares to leave the region.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas staged a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel has declared a state of war readiness; announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians; and began delivering air strikes on the enclave and certain parts of Lebanon and Syria, followed by a ground operation in the enclave. Clashes are underway in the West Bank as well.

On September 23, Israel launched an offensive operation, dubbed Northern Arrows, targeting the Lebanon-based Shiite party Hezbollah’s military facilities, carrying out massive air strikes across Lebanon. Overnight on October 1, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced a ground operation in borderline regions in Lebanon’s south.