Pentagon orders US aircraft carrier to remain in the Mediterranean near Israel

(Patria) - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and another warship to remain in the Mediterranean Sea for several more weeks to maintain a two-carrier presence near Israel as its war with Hamas continues, US officials said.

This would be the third time the Ford's deployment has been extended. The US has two aircraft carriers in the region, a rarity in recent years, AP reported.

Several US officials confirmed that longer deployments for the Ford and the cruiser USS Normandy were approved this week on condition of anonymity as they have not yet been made public. Other ships in the Ford's strike group have already had their deployments extended.

The Pentagon bolstered its military presence in the region after the Hamas attacks on October 7 to deter Iran from expanding the war into a regional conflict. In the months since, Iran-backed militants in Iraq and Syria have carried out regular attacks with rockets, drones, and missiles on US military installations there.

At the same time, US warships in the Red Sea have intercepted incoming missiles fired toward Israel from the Iran-backed Houthi-controlled area of Yemen. They have also shot down drones heading toward ships and responded to distress calls from commercial vessels that came under attack near the narrow Bab el-Mandeb strait.

As of Friday, there are 19 US warships in the region, including seven in the eastern Mediterranean and another 12 from the Red Sea, across the Arabian Sea to the Persian Gulf.

The decision to keep the Ford, the Navy's newest aircraft carrier, in the region comes after Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Thursday that it would take months to destroy Hamas, predicting a prolonged war.

The Ford's approximately 5,000 sailors were awaiting a Pentagon decision on whether they would return home for the holidays. The ship departed Norfolk, Virginia in early May to deploy to US European Command, and according to the original schedule, it was supposed to be home in early November.

The initial plan was for the strike group of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower to replace the Ford. But Sabrina Singh, at a Pentagon briefing on October 17, said Austin decided to extend the Ford's deployment and that both the Eisenhower and the Ford would cover waters from southern Europe to the Middle East. Officials said the plan was to keep the Ford there for several more weeks.

The Eisenhower is in the Gulf of Oman and patrolling the Middle East alongside the USS Philippine Sea, a Navy cruiser. And three warships - USS Carney, USS Stethem, and USS Mason, all Navy destroyers - are moving daily through the Bab el-Mandeb to help deter and respond to Houthi attacks. Other ships that are part of the Ford's strike group include the destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt.

The US regularly had two aircraft carriers in the Middle East during the peak of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but in recent years it has tried to shift its attention and naval presence toward the Pacific.