United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed on Friday that the Pentagon has increased the number of fighter jet squadrons in the Middle East region.
"For any country, for any group, or anyone thinking about trying to take advantage of this atrocity...We have just one word: Don't," Austin told a press conference while answering a question on possible spillovers in the region or an intervention of Iran in the Israel-Hamas war. "The US Department of Defense stands fully ready to deploy additional assets if necessary."
For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, also present at this conference, reiterated that civilians in northern Gaza must go south. "The camouflage of the terrorists is the civilian population. Therefore, we have to separate them. So, those who want to save their lives, please go to the south," he stated.