A photo of an Israeli soldier riding a tank on the Israel-Gaza border.
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Washington — The Pentagon announced Monday that it is coordinating with U.S. defense giants to expedite the shipment of pending Israeli weapons orders, as violence in the region escalates following a horrific weekend terrorist attack by Hamas. .
“We won’t go into details in this meeting, but the bottom line is that we are working as quickly as possible to provide many types of much-needed ammunition and other equipment,” a senior defense official said.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with Pentagon rules, added that a military cargo plane carrying security aid had already departed from the mainland United States en route to the region.
The Pentagon declined to share specific details of the type of security assistance the United States is providing to Israel. Defense stocks rose broadly in the market on Monday.of iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF rose 4.5% Northrop Grumman A sharp increase of 11%.
“We hope that some of Israel’s demands will continue to be fulfilled,” the official said, adding that Hamas’ attacks on Israeli civilians “have been ISIS-level brutality.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday ordered U.S. firepower closer to the region to project military power and increase security assistance to Israel.
The powerful USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group, including the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford, the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser Normandy, and the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers Thomas Hudner, Ramage, Kearny, and Roosevelt, moves to the eastern Mediterranean on Austin’s orders. .
“We have also taken steps to strengthen the U.S. Air Force’s F-35, F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter squadrons in the region,” Austin said in a statement Sunday.
Saturday’s unprecedented land, air and sea attack on Israel sparked a flurry of Israeli retaliatory airstrikes since then.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Hamas’ attack on Israel a “terrible mistake” and warned in a televised speech that retaliatory strikes were “just the beginning.”
“The images of devastation and destruction from Hamas strongholds in Gaza are just the beginning. We have eliminated hundreds of terrorists and we will not stop there,” Netanyahu said.
“This war has been imposed on us by our terrorist enemies,” the Israeli leader added.
The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 1,300 people, 11 of whom are American citizens.
President Joe Biden said in a statement late Monday: “We also know that American citizens remain missing and we are working with Israeli authorities to obtain further information regarding their whereabouts.” Ta.
Biden directed his team to work with the Israeli side “on all aspects of the hostage crisis, including sharing intelligence and sending experts from across the U.S. government to consult and advise the Israeli side on hostage rescue efforts.” He said he did.
U.S. stocks have largely dispelled concerns over the Israel-Hamas war. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended Monday’s trading up nearly 200 points, while the S&P 500 index rose 0.6%.
Energy stocks rose on the back of a 4% rise in crude oil prices. exxon mobil 3.5% increase; western oil The stock ended the day up 4.5%.
—CNBC’s Fred Imbert contributed to this article.
