Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reinforced U.S. military capability in the Middle East with more warplanes amid a U.S. bombing campaign in Yemen and mounting tensions with Iran.

The U.S. will soon have two carrier strike groups in the region as Washington steps up its pressure on Tehran.

Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip is expanding to seize “large areas,” the defense minister said Wednesday, as airstrikes on the southern city of Khan Younis killed 17 people overnight, according to hospital officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that he is “changing the face of the Middle East.” It is, he says, “a war of rebirth.” It is, in a sense, undoubtedly true. But Netanyahu is a master tactician,

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday a significant escalation of Israel's renewed offensive in Gaza to capture "large areas," creating security buffers between the Palestinian enclave and Israel.