The move comes amid concerns over Iran's response following the killings of senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a guided-missile submarine to head toward the Middle East and the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly toward the area.
The order on Sunday night followed a phone call between Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant amid rising tensions following the killing of senior members of Hamas and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Austin “reiterated the United States’ commitment to take all possible measures to defend Israel and highlighted the strengthening of the U.S. military’s posture and capabilities across the Middle East in light of rising regional tensions,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The USS Georgia, a nuclear-powered submarine, was already in the Mediterranean Sea in July, according to a U.S. military post on social media, but it is rare for the United States to publicly announce the deployment of a submarine.
The Abraham Lincoln has been in the Asia Pacific and had already received orders to go to the Middle East to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, which is scheduled to return home.
Last week, Austin said it was expected to arrive in the area by the end of the month. The carrier has F-35 and F/A-18 fighter jets on board.
The US military has already said it will deploy additional fighter jets and warships to the Middle East as Washington seeks to bolster Israeli defences against a possible attack from Iran.
Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, the group that rules Gaza and is backed by Iran, was assassinated in Tehran on July 31. Iran blamed Israel and vowed to retaliate. Israel did not claim responsibility for the killing.
Haniyeh's killing came the same week that Fuad Shukr, the top military commander of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut, raising fears that the conflict in Gaza could spread into a regional war.
The US announcement came a day after at least 90 people were killed and nearly 50 wounded in an Israeli attack on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza, Palestinian health officials said.
The Pentagon added that Austin and Gallant had also discussed “the importance of mitigating harm to civilians, progress toward achieving a ceasefire, and the release of hostages held in Gaza.”
Nearly 40,000 people have been killed since Israel launched its war on Gaza last October, after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. An estimated 1,139 people were killed during the attack on Israel and Hamas took more than 200 people prisoner.
Washington and other allies have renewed their efforts to achieve a ceasefire.
Hamas said on Sunday that the United States, Qatar and Egypt should present a plan to implement the ceasefire proposal put forward in May by US President Joe Biden, instead of holding “further rounds of negotiations” and discussing new proposals for Gaza.
