The risks of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict flaring up have never seemed so high. In the east, Iran threatens to carry out a military operation if Israel occupies the Gaza Strip, while the United States is targeted by Islamist militias. The US military has mobilized significant forces in the Mediterranean Sea, placing two carrier strike groups near the Levant.
In the Middle East, all the signals have been red for several days now. Tensions are increasing around Israel as strikes carried out by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF, or IDF) in the Gaza Strip continue to intensify. A few hours after the Hamas attack in the south of the country, the Joe Biden administration expressed its support for the Hebrew state. As early as October 8, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the deployment of a carrier strike group in the Mediterranean. With six ships dispatched near the European and Levantine coasts, the United States hoped to invoke a sufficient deterrent against hostile nations like Iran or terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah.
But the controversy surrounding an air attack on a hospital in central Gaza has sparked strong reactions in the Arab world. While on October 15, the Department of Defense reported the arrival of a second carrier group in the Mediterranean Sea, the American president met Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on October 18. Despite Joe Biden’s desire not to see the conflict between Hamas and Israel extend to the surrounding regions, theU.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported several attacks on American targets on October 20.
