US orders guided missile submarine, aircraft carrier to Middle East as Hezbollah fires rockets into Israel

The US ordered a guided missile submarine to the Middle East on Sunday, following a call between US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant.

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group will also sail more quickly to the area amid growing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah with Austin reiterating Washington's "commitment to take every possible step to defend Israel".

Austin also noted the "strengthening of the US military force posture and capabilities throughout the Middle East in light of escalating regional tensions".

Earlier this week, the US State Department announced it would send an additional $3.5 billion to Israel to spend on US-made weapons and military equipment. The budget is in addition to the more than $3 billion in annual US military aid to Israel.

Tensions have mounted in recent weeks following the assassinations of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran on 31 July and several other Hezbollah leaders, including Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander in the past weeks.

While Israel has not claimed responsibility for the assassination of Haniyeh, Iran has blamed them and vowed to retaliate.

According to a US military post on social media, the nuclear submarine was already in the Mediterranean Sea in July.

The US will also deploy additional fighter aircraft and warships to the Middle East as Israel braces for a potential attack from Iran.

Washington's bolstering of Israeli military capabilities comes after one of the deadliest Israeli strikes on Gaza since the start of the war in October.

On 10 August, over 90 people were killed and dozens more wounded when Israel bombed the al-Taba'een school in Gaza City, where thousands of forcibly displaced Palestinians were sheltering.

Hezbollah retaliates

In Lebanon, Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets toward northern Israel on Sunday evening, as fears continue to grow over the expected attack from Iran.

Despite rocket fire between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon being an almost daily occurrence since October, concerns have been raised over it spilling out into a wider regional conflict.

The rockets fired towards Israel come after Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli strike on the town of Ma’aroub in south Lebanon wounded 12 people, including six children.

Iran may carry out their retaliatory attack on Israel in the coming days, possibly before Hamas and Israel are set to meet on Thursday to resume truce talks, Israeli media reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

The report adds there has in recent days been debate in Iran over the nature and timing of a response to a potential Iranian strike.

Another source reportedly told Israeli media the situation is "fluid" and Iranian decisions could still change.

Israeli media also reported that the Israeli army issued a directive on Sunday ordering all off-duty soldiers currently in Georgia and Azerbaijan to return to Israel immediately, amid concerns that Iran could launch an attack on Israeli interests in the Caucusus region the in coming days. 

The Times of Israel reported that the Israeli military is "conducting threat assessments all the time, and updating accordingly the list of countries permitted for servicemembers to enter".

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 39,790 Palestinians since 7 October and wounded over 92,000 others.

The war has also forcibly displaced over 95,000 people in south Lebanon and killed at least 466 others, according to a UN report published in July.