International- The Navy's most advanced supercarrier arrived in the eastern Mediterranean on Tuesday.
- Its presence is a show of support for Israel, one of America's closest allies.
The deployment of the US Navy's newest supercarrier to the eastern Mediterranean to deter regional powers from joining the war in Israel is likely more for optics, an expert told Insider.
The attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel over the weekend prompted the Pentagon to announce that it was sending the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the area in order "to deter any actor seeking to escalate the situation or widen this war."
US military officials said earlier this week that escalation could occur if Israel's Middle Eastern neighbors — including Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group — became heavily involved.
But Hayat Alvi, an associate professor at the US Naval College who focuses on the Middle East, told Insider that both Iran and Lebanon are still reeling from political and economic disasters in their own countries and that they would be in too bad of shape to engage Israel.
"The thing is that they cannot, in all likelihood, face off with the United States, especially combined with the Israelis," Alvi told Insider. "It's just not going to happen. It's a losing fight."
Alvi added that she is not sure whether the US "even needs to flex its muscles for major deterrents against Hezbollah or Iran in this particular conflict given the calculations politically, economically, militarily of all of those players."
Lebanon has found itself in a crippling economic crisis in the last four years, which has pushed over 80 percent of the population into poverty, according to Human Rights Watch. Meanwhile, Iran is facing continued political instability, the organization added.
Alvi said that because of their domestic issues, the US carrier is there "more for optics," she said, adding: "It's showing the Americans' strong support and alliance with the Israelis."
The US carrier strike group sent toward Israel arrived Tuesday afternoon, the Pentagon said.
According to The Washington Post, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, another carrier, is expected to leave the US later this week.
Defense officials told the Post that they hadn't decided whether Eisenhower would replace the Ford or join it as a deterrent.
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, this week said that the carrier deployment could lead to "massacres."
"What is the US aircraft carrier doing in Israel? What is it coming to do? It will take down Gaza by striking the surrounding areas and start committing serious massacres," he told a press conference.
It is the USS Gerald R. Ford's first full deployment, which began months ago and has mostly involved exercises with military partners.
The decision to deploy the USS Gerald R. Ford near Israel is a "participation in the aggression against our people," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said earlier this week, according to The Wall Street Journal.
On Saturday, Hamas launched an attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian exclave which has been controlled by them since 2007. Israel has since retaliated with full force.