The Israel-Hamas war|The attacks

USS Gerald R Ford in the Mediterranean. The aircraft carrier that is the world's largest is being pulled back to the United States.  

 

Analysis: The US backs down and the war in Gaza is slow  

 

That the US is moving the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford from the Mediterranean is bad news for Israel, writes Haaretz's Amos Harel in an analysis. He believes that it could be a sign that the US is reducing its support for Israel's war, at least in purely material terms.  

 

"US support for Israel's war has been great, but Benjamin Netanyahu's government does not have unlimited credit. On the contrary," he writes.  

At the same time, Zoran Kusovac asks himself whether Israel's army is as successful as it claims. Even conservatively, Israeli forces have killed 20 combatants of the terror group for every Israeli soldier killed, but the question is whether progress is being made quickly enough.  

 

“In a classical war, any general would have seen those numbers as a sign of certain victory. But not in this war. Hamas fighters are ideologically and religiously motivated, and trained to accept death," he writes.  

 

*******************************

 

Israel: Five gunmen killed in the West Bank  

 

Israel's military says it has killed five armed men in the West Bank, according to Reuters. 

 

Israeli soldiers are said to have been on what is described as an anti-terrorist mission in the West Bank when they were fired upon from a house in the Palestinian village of Azzun. An Israeli soldier is said to have been injured in the shooting. 

  

Israel has stepped up its raids on the West Bank since Hamas attacked the country on October 7.  

 

Palestinian authorities have not commented on the incident.  

 

**********************************

 

The US is moving aircraft carriers from the Mediterranean 

 

The US is withdrawing the aircraft carrier Gerald R Ford from the Mediterranean, several media reports.  

The 337-meter-long nuclear-powered ship is the world's largest, and has been stationed in the Eastern Mediterranean to support Israel and prevent attacks from neighboring countries following the October 7 Hamas attack.  

 

According to Politico, the Gerald R Ford will be replaced by the smaller ship USS Bataan and its support vessels. The aircraft carrier Dwight D Eisenhower will also stop in the area, according to AFP.