Israeli military says US naval presence may stave off regional escalation

PHOTO CAPTION: A U.S. Navy Aviation Boatswain's Mate assigned to the air department of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) signals to an aircraft preparing to launch from the flight deck, Adriatic Sea, Oct. 1, 2023. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nolan Pennington via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. naval deployments close to Israel as it battles Hamas in the Gaza Strip may stave off any regional escalation, an Israeli military spokesperson said on Tuesday, adding that Israel would also receive U.S. supplies to help prevent future shortfalls.

"When you have that American shadow coming through it sends a message, maybe to people in further places, to stay out of this," Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht told reporters.

"There's going to be some equipment coming," he added, when asked about possible U.S. defence supplies, about which he did not elaborate. "We potentially could be stretched at some point, if this expands."



(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Michael Perry)