Israel death toll soars as U.S. military shifts to ‘deterrence posture’

globalnews.ca:

The death toll in Israel has reached at least 600 people, according to government numbers, with more than 100 believed to be kidnapped and more than 2,000 people injured after the Hamas militant group attacked the country by air, land and sea.

Officials in Gaza say at least 370 people have died in the territory as well.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement Sunday afternoon that he has directed the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to move to the eastern Mediterranean “to bolster regional deterrence efforts” as fears grow of a broader spread of violence.

The Associated Press reported on Sunday morning that soldiers were battling with Hamas fighters in the streets and buildings in Gaza were levelled by retaliation strikes by the Israelis. But the south was not the only place where fighting was seen, with reporting noting a brief exchange with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group also erupting in the north, raising fears the conflict could grow.

German Chancellor OIaf Scholz stressed the need to avoid a wider “conflagration” in the Middle East.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the security cabinet had approved the state of war that he had vowed a day earlier.  The security cabinet also said in a statement it has approved cutting off the supply of electricity, goods and fuel into Gaza.

Netanyahu said the country is now embarking on “a long and difficult war.”

Included in the U.S. strike group moving into the eastern Mediterranean is the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, the guided missile cruiser USS Normandy, and guided missile destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney and USS Roosevelt.

“The U.S. maintains ready forces globally to further reinforce this