The Hamas-Israel war is now in its third week with no signs of a cease-fire. Israel is intensifying its airstrikes against the Gaza Strip ahead of its planned ground invasion, while the humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave reaches catastrophic levels.
Tension is growing elsewhere in the region, raising concerns of a wider regional conflict with Iranian-backed forces targeting US assets in the region and ongoing cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israel in the south of Lebanon.
The United States deployed warships and aircraft carriers to the eastern Mediterranean within hours of the attack carried out by Hamas against Israel Oct. 7, the deadliest in the country's recent history, killing 1,400 people. Hamas also captured over 200 hostages, a number of whom hold US citizenship.
Since then, Israel's relentless airstrikes into the enclave have killed over 6,500 people. At least 6,546 Palestinians, including 2,704 children, are dead so far in the indiscriminate strikes, while 17,439 others have been injured, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza.
