The US has fired a warning shot to Iran and Syria amid threats to join Hamas in their terror efforts, a defence analyst has suggested.
Lt Col Stuart Crawford told GB News that the Americans have moved a “hugely powerful” battle group into the eastern Mediterranean and are preparing to send another in a bid to strike a fear into those contemplating support for Hamas.
The US last week announced it was moving an aircraft carrier, ships and jets to the region while providing Israel with additional equipment and ammunition.
President Joe Biden has been unwavering in his support for Israel since Hamas’s terror attack, which he branded an “unprecedented and appalling assault”.
Joe Biden has pledged support for Israel
PA / GB NEWS
Crawford said he is expecting the US to ramp up its efforts and act as a deterrent in the region.
“We’re seeing escalation already, Hezbollah is engaged and there is skirmishing on the border of Syria”, he said.
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“The elephant in the room is Iran, which has supplied Hezbollah with weaponry. The fact that the Americans have moved a hugely powerful carrier into the eastern Mediterranean and are sending another one I think it is a warning to all the other malcontents who may wish to get involved.
“They can’t compete with the USA.”
The Hezbollah group resides in Lebanon and has been engaged with a tit-for-tat battle with Israel since Hamas’s atrocities.
Israel Defence Forces on Saturday said it has struck a Hezbollah target in southern Lebanon in response to the “infiltration of unidentified aerial objects into Israel”.
Netanyahu has been able to call on US support
The group is intent on resisting Western influence in the Middle East while expelling Israeli forces from Lebanon, all while being supported by Iran.
Their militant activity and support from Tehran has led the US and the UK to designate it as a terror organisation.
Speaking on the matter of hostages in Gaza, Crawford admitted the top priority for Israeli forces in their impending ground invasion will not be their retrieval.
The Special Air Service (SAS) may wade in and assist with rescue efforts themselves, according to the defence analyst, who added he would be “surprised” were that not to be the case.
More than 150 civilians are being held in the enclave, with up to 10 Britons among them, according to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.
Israelis have spoken out on their anguish after seeing loved ones taken into Gaza, including Shaked Harman, who spoke to GB News after 11 members of her family were kidnapped by Hamas.
She said: “Eight of them were together in the shelter of my parents’ house.
"On Saturday morning, my aunt and uncle were nearby at a house inside the shelter.
"We had some communication with them during Saturday morning and that was very intense bombing.
“I was in the shelter in my house and my brother was texting them. At the beginning they said they’re in the shelter and they're keeping safe and they're doing what they're being told to do.
“And then at some point, they said that they're in big trouble and that they love us. And that was the last message we heard from them.”