- The USS Gerald R. Ford entered the East Mediterranean Sea this week.
- The carrier and its strike force are part of US aid to Israel.
- This is the first launch for the USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike force.
The US announced on October 8 that it would be sending its most advanced aircraft carrier — USS Gerald R. Ford — and its attached strike group toward Israel. The carrier has joined a cruiser and a handful of destroyers.
The decision to send the carrier strike group came after Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7 and killed 1,400 people. Israel responded with airstrikes that have killed more than 3,000 Palestinian people and injured nearly 14,000 in Gaza, according to Tuesday data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The presence of the USS Gerald R. Ford in waters near Israel, where it arrived last Tuesday, serves to “deter any actor seeking to escalate the situation or widen this war,” according to a statement from US Central Command.
Here’s a look onboard the USS Gerald R. Ford while it’s stationed in the Eastern Mediterranean.
