NORFOLK, Va. — As the Fighting in Israel and Gaza continues, the U.S. military presence in the region is increasing.
As of Oct. 18, the Norfolk-based USS Bataan amphibious ready group, amphibious transport dock USS Mesa Verde, and dock landing ship USS Carter Hall were all being sent to the Red Sea.
Two Norfolk-based carrier strike groups had previously been sent to the region and as of Oct. 18 another was on the way.
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“It’s really a bad situation. It’s the worst situation in my lifetime," retired U.S. Navy SEAL Don Mann said of the fighting.
Mann said he had been watching what’s going on in the Middle East very closely. He called the situation a nightmare scenario that seemed to be getting worse by the hour, saying snipers, tunnels and boobytraps make fighting in Gaza difficult.
“There have been reports that tier one groups, like SEAL Team Six and Delta Force, have been sent out which I think is a very, very good thing," said Mann. "They’ve got the experience, they got the training, and they’ve got the mindset that they’re going to win.”
As of Oct. 18, Hamas was estimated to have around 200 hostages following the terrorist group's attack on Israel, as many as 13 of the hostages are Americans. Mann said that presents challenges.
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“It’s going to be the biggest hostage rescue scenario nightmare anybody could look at because now you’re going after these, possibly, 200 hostages in these tunnels, maybe 300 miles of tunnels, under hospitals and schools and buildings," said Mann.
Aaron Karp is a professor of international politics at Old Dominion University.
He said it's wishful thinking that the fighting in Israel and Gaza will end soon.
“None of the participants in the war have an interest in ceasing to fight," Karp explained. "They all benefit from expanding it."
Karp said there are a lot of eyes on the region.
“Regardless of whatever you think, the top issue is in the world right now, very few people think it’s Israel-Palestine," Karp said. "But that’s going to be treated as the top issue and everything else you care about, forget it. So who benefits from this war? Everybody else."
