Another US Navy carrier strike group is heading to waters near Israel, where it'll join a large amount of American firepower already there

• The Pentagon ordered a second US Navy carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean.
• USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and several other vessels will join a group of ships already in the area.

The Pentagon has dispatched a second US Navy carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean in a move that will deliver additional American firepower to the waters near Israel as fears mount that its war with Hamas could worsen and spiral into a regional conflict.

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is moving into the area "as part of our effort to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas's attack on Israel," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement on Saturday. The strike group includes the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea, and guided-missile destroyers USS Gravely and USS Mason.

"The increases to US force posture signal the United States' ironclad commitment to Israel's security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war," Austin said.

USS Eisenhower and its accompanying surface ships left the US on Friday as part of a regularly scheduled deployment to participate in exercises in the US European Command (USEUCOM) area of responsibility which, in addition to Europe, includes parts of Asia, the Middle East, and the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.

Washington was reportedly considering sending the Eisenhower's carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean earlier this week, but no formal decision had been made at that time.

The Eisenhower and its escort ships will join the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which arrived on Tuesday after it was deployed to the region in response to last weekend's brutal Hamas terror attacks in Israel. That strike group — a massive display of firepower — includes the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy, and the guided-missile destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt.

Israel's war against the Hamas militant group — which has been going for a week now — has spread fears that the bloodshed could expand into a regional conflict and draw in Iran or another one of its proxies, like Lebanon's Hezbollah (both Hamas and Hezbollah are designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the US State Department). White House and Pentagon officials have said that the movement of carrier strike groups is meant to prevent this from happening.

"The arrival of these highly capable forces to the region is a strong signal of deterrence should any actor hostile to Israel consider trying to take advantage of this situation," said Gen. Michael Kurilla, the commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), said in a statement this week.

US Navy ships aren't the only NATO military assets sent out in response to the Israel-Hamas war. The US has augmented existing airpower in the area with additional F-15, F-16 and A-10 aircraft, and Britain deployed several naval ships, surveillance aircraft, and a company of Royal Marines on Thursday to the eastern Mediterranean.

Tensions across the Middle East skyrocketed after the initial Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7, which killed at least 1,300 people — mostly civilians — and injured more than 3,200 others, according to the latest figures. In response to the attacks, Israel immediately began bombing what it has said are Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip, killing over 2,200 people and injuring nearly 9,000, according to the United Nations.

Israel's military says the relentless aerial campaign — which has resulted in civilian casualties and turned entire neighborhoods to rubble — is a precursor to an imminent ground invasion of the coastal enclave as a means to completely crush Hamas. In preparation for this, the country on Thursday ordered everyone in northern Gaza to evacuate to the south.

UN and human rights organization officials expressed serious alarm and concern over the development and the offensive, urging immediate deescalation to prevent an already dire humanitarian situation from getting worse.