Measures of US military assistance to Israel in the war with Hamas have been named: aircraft carrier and ammunition

The US and its European allies offer Israel their “enduring support” in a joint statement. The Quint group, which along with the United States includes Britain, France, Germany and Italy, said Hamas’s “terrorist actions” should be “universally condemned.”

The leaders of the US, UK, France, Germany and Italy issued a joint statement expressing their “firm and unified support” for the State of Israel and their “unequivocal condemnation” of Hamas’s actions.

As The Guardian notes, this follows an unprecedented attack by a Palestinian militant group on Israel from Gaza on Saturday, to which Israel responded with airstrikes and a “total siege” of the Gaza Strip.

The statement was issued after a telephone conversation between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Together these five countries make up the international organization Quint.

“We make it clear that Hamas’ terrorist actions have no justification or legitimacy and must be universally condemned,” the Western leaders said in a statement. – There is never any justification for terrorism. In recent days, the world has watched in horror as Hamas terrorists carried out massacres of families in their homes, killed more than 200 young people enjoying a music festival, and kidnapped elderly women, children and entire families who are now being held hostage. Our countries will support Israel in its efforts to protect itself and its people from such atrocities. We also emphasize that now is not the time for any party hostile to Israel to take advantage of these attacks.”

At least 900 people have reportedly been killed in Israel since the conflict began on Saturday, with more than 650 killed in Gaza. According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, more than 100 people were taken hostage by Hamas.

On Sunday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that he had ordered US naval ships, including an aircraft carrier, to approach the Eastern Mediterranean in response to the Hamas attack. But on Monday it was confirmed that the US has no intention of deploying troops to the region following the attacks on Israel.

Earlier on Monday, British Prime Minister Sunak, after chairing an emergency meeting of the Cobra committee, pledged to provide diplomatic, intelligence or security support to Israel if asked.

Despite condemning Hamas, the statement did make some concession to what it called the “legitimate aspirations” of the Palestinian people, The Guardian notes.

“We all recognize the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people and support equal measures of justice and freedom for both Israelis and Palestinians. But make no mistake: Hamas does not represent these aspirations, and it offers the Palestinian people nothing but more terror and bloodshed,” the Western P5 leaders said in a statement.

As Al Jazeera recalls, just hours after the deadly Hamas attack in Israel, US President Joe Biden promised “rock-solid and unwavering” support for his closest ally in the Middle East.

Washington, which provides about $3 billion in military aid to Israel annually, ordered warships and aircraft to move closer to Israel in a show of support following Saturday’s attack by a Palestinian militant group.

Al Jazeera lists US military support for Israel: the carrier strike group USS Gerald R Ford will be deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean along with accompanying warships. The USS Ford is the most modern aircraft carrier in the US Navy and one of the largest in the world. The aircraft carrier carries a guided missile cruiser and four guided missile destroyers. The United States is additionally sending the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy, armed with naval guns, and the destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney and USS Roosevelt.

Pentagon chief Austin said the United States was bolstering the air force’s F-35, called “the world’s most advanced fighter jet,” along with squadrons of F-15, F-16 and A-10 fighters in the region.

“I don’t understand, from a military-strategic point of view, why the United States would send aircraft carriers – with about 5,000 sailors on board – and the most modern aircraft in the world when Israel is more than capable of dealing with Hamas in the Gaza Strip,” comments senior political analyst Al -Jazeeras” Marwan Bishara, calling the US decision to move the Ford aircraft carrier a major escalation.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Sunday that the US would provide ammunition to Israel.

“We don’t know exactly what the munitions are, but it is suspected that Israel has requested both interceptors and precision-guided munitions,” said Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Washington, DC. Hendren said the interceptors are intended for Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. It is these devices that defeat Hamas rockets and, in some cases, cause them to explode harmlessly in the air rather than fall to the ground.

An Al Jazeera correspondent reported that $2 billion worth of US ammunition had been pre-delivered to six different locations in Israel that could be used in emergencies.

Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, D.C., said the United States provides $3 billion in military aid to Israel annually. Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of United States foreign aid since World War II.

Hamas called the US statement “aggression” against the Palestinians. “US announcement that it will provide an aircraft carrier to support the occupation [Израилем]is actual participation in aggression against our people,” the group said in a statement.