#Israel on Sunday issued a formal #DeclarationOfWar against #Hamas & pounded #Gaza w/ strikes, promising retaliation for an unprecedented attack by the #militant group that surprised Israeli #security forces. The #DeathToll has risen to 600 in Israel, & thousands have been injured…, while Palestinian authorities said ≥370 were killed & 2,200 injured in Gaza.
The USS Gerald R. Ford & its ~5k #USN#sailors & deck of #warplanes will be accompanied by #cruisers & #destroyers in a show of force that is meant to be ready to respond to anything, from possibly interdicting additional #weapons from reaching #Hamas & conducting #surveillance.
The large deployment… underscores the concern that the #UnitedStates has in trying to deter the #conflict from growing. The Israeli govt formal #DeclarationOfWar …gave the green light for "significant military steps"….
"Deliberately grounded on a tiny reef in the #SouthChinaSea, part of an island chain claimed by the two Asian countries, the #BRPSierraMadre is now the unlikely base for a detachment of Filipino marines who stand guard over the atoll, scanning the turquoise waters for Chinese ships." #AyunginShoal#SecondThomasShoal#Philippines
A furious #China launched "punishment" drills around #Taiwan on Thursday in what it said was a response to "separatist acts", sending up heavily armed #warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated President #LaiChingTe.