WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says he's ordered the Ford carrier strike group to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel.
The move comes after the surprise attack by Hamas that has left more than 1,000 dead and thousands wounded on both sides.
Meantime, a U.S. official says preliminary reports indicate that at least four American citizens were killed in the attacks and an additional seven were missing and unaccounted for.
The USS Gerald R. Ford and its approximately 5,000 sailors and deck of warplanes will be accompanied by cruisers and destroyers in a show of force.
The strike force is meant to be ready to respond to anything, from possibly interdicting additional weapons from reaching Hamas and conducting surveillance.
