U.S. Accelerates Military Deployment to Middle East as Israel Bombs Another School

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant today.

Secretary Austin reiterated the United States' commitment to take every possible step to defend Israel and noted the strengthening of U.S. military force posture and capabilities throughout the Middle East in light of escalating regional tensions. Reinforcing this commitment, Secretary Austin has ordered the USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN Carrier Strike Group, equipped with F-35C fighters, to accelerate its transit to the Central Command area of responsibility, adding to the capabilities already provided by the USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT Carrier Strike Group.

Additionally, the Secretary has ordered the USS Georgia (SSGN 729) guided missile submarine to the Central Command region.

The United States will send an additional $3.5bn to Israel to spend on US-made weapons and military equipment, the Department of State has said, as the deadly war in Gaza continues into its 10th month and amid claims of widespread Israeli military abuses in the occupied Palestinian territory.

[...] Part of the new financial aid will go to an Israeli military unit, which is accused of carrying out human rights abuses against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The State Department said it had decided against sanctioning the unit – which would have been the first-ever blocking of aid to the Israeli military – saying it was satisfied with Israeli efforts to address “violations by this unit” which have been “effectively remediated”.

More than 100 Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, according to officials in the enclave.

Three Israeli bombs hit al-Tabin school, located in the Daraj district, Gaza’s civil defence agency said of the attack on Saturday, which it described as a “horrific massacre”.

Women, children and the elderly are reported to be among the dead and the toll was expected to rise. The attack took place while people were performing morning prayers and triggered a fire that ripped through the building.

Ismail al-Thawabta, the head of Gaza’s Government Media Office, told Al Jazeera that the Israeli army used three bombs weighing 2,000 pounds (907kg) each in its attack.

In a new Middle East war, as in all the previous ones, it would likely be Americans, not Israelis, who would fight and die [...] Shortly after the murder of Haniyeh, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it emphasizes US “responsibility” for the assassination because of its support for Israel. And Iran therefore has “the right to respond appropriately against this aggressive action against its sovereignty”—an action that could be directed at US interests both abroad and at home. [...]

Netanyahu deliberately lied to the American president about a hostages-and-ceasefire deal, and then brutally assassinated the other side’s negotiator, possibly with the assistance of US intelligence, so that he could continue his war crimes, assassinations, and genocide. After Israel deliberately and violently has eliminated diplomacy to end the slaughter, the only option left for the United States is coercion. The Biden administration should immediately cut off all weapons and financial aid to Israel, and begin applying harsh sanctions—just as it is doing with Russia over its war in Ukraine. As a lame-duck president, Biden has nothing to lose and a lot to gain, not least of which would be leaving office without a bloody, unending genocide and a potential new Middle East war as his lasting legacy.

Biden — who held just one public event this week — is currently lounging on the beach in Delaware.

He has spent 40% of his entire presidency on vacation.

Who is running the country? pic.twitter.com/NAva2BLPMm

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 10, 2024