US Informed Turkey About Deploying Aircraft Carriers Near Israel for Possible Evacuations

A Turkish Defense Ministry official stated on Thursday that US officials informed their Turkish counterparts about the approach of aircraft carriers to Israel in the Eastern Mediterranean for a potential evacuation of civilians. The United States has deployed two aircraft carriers and their support ships to the Eastern Mediterranean since the surprise attack by the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement (Hamas) on Israel on October 7. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan criticized the United States for this move, stating it would commit "serious massacres" in Gaza. He also mentioned that the US deployment of aircraft carriers hindered Turkish efforts to calm the region. A Turkish Defense Ministry official told reporters, "When we raise this issue with our US counterparts, they tell us that they sent the aircraft carriers there as part of non-combat operations related to evacuating civilians in the area." Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the deployment of carrier strike groups in the region "is not intended to provoke but to deter."