US to send military ships, aircraft closer to Israel - sources

The United States will send multiple military ships and aircraft closer to Israel for deterrence and as a show of support, two U.S. officials told Reuters, with Washington believing Hamas' latest attack may have been motivated to disrupt a potential normalizing of Israel-Saudi Arabia ties. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The United States will send multiple military ships and aircraft closer to Israel for deterrence and as a show of support, two U.S. officials told Reuters, with Washington believing Hamas' latest attack may have been motivated to disrupt a potential normalizing of Israel-Saudi Arabia ties.

The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity. Additional details were expected to be announced later on Sunday. Hamas fighters rampaged through Israeli towns as the country suffered its bloodiest day in decades on Saturday. Israel battered Palestinians with air strikes in Gaza on Sunday, with hundreds reportedly killed on both sides. The spiraling violence threatens to start a major new war in the Middle East.

The attack by Hamas launched at dawn on Saturday represented the biggest and deadliest incursion into Israel since Egypt and Syria launched a sudden assault in an effort to reclaim lost territory in the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago. "It wouldn't be a surprise that part of the motivation may have been to disrupt efforts to bring Saudi Arabia and Israel together, along with other countries that may be interested in normalizing relations with Israel," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN. He added that Washington will announce new assistance for Israel on Sunday.

Hamas on Saturday said the attack was driven by what it called escalated Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and against Palestinians in Israeli prisons. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh had highlighted threats to Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, the continuation of an Israeli blockade on Gaza and Israeli normalization with countries in the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month said he believed his country was on the cusp of peace with Saudi Arabia, predicting that the move could reshape the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, the home of Islam's two holiest shrines, has long insisted on the Palestinians' right to statehood as a condition of recognizing Israel - something many members of Netanyahu's nationalist religious coalition have long resisted. The United States on Sunday said that Saudi-Israel normalization efforts should continue despite the latest attack.

"We think it would be in both countries' interests to continue to pursue this possibility," U.S. Deputy National Security adviser Jon Finer told Fox News Sunday. FIGHTING CONTINUES IN GAZA

Blinken added that the United States has also taken note of reports of several Americans killed and kidnapped in Israel, and Washington is looking to verify the details and figures. "We have reports that several Americans were killed. We're working overtime to verify that," Blinken said.

The White House on Sunday said U.S. President Joe Biden was briefed by his national security team about the situation in Israel and that Biden had "directed additional support for Israel." Blinken labeled the attack on Israel as a "terrorist attack by a terrorist organization."

Blinken added that there was relative calm on Sunday in most of Israel but intense fighting in Gaza, an Israeli-blockaded Palestinian enclave that has witnessed weeks of protests by youth groups due to long-time grievances related to the Israeli military occupation, the Palestinian national cause and prolonged economic strife. He added that there was not yet any evidence seen by the United States of Iran being behind the latest attack in Israel but he noted the long-standing ties between Iran and Hamas, which governs Gaza.

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