Photo: F/A-18D Hornet aircraft

Washington, May 13 (RHC)-- The United States has deployed F-18 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The U.S. fighter jets were sent to the region as tensions have escalated in the occupied Palestinian territories and Saudi war on Yemen has raged.  The occupied territories have been simmering with rage over Israel’s plot to expel dozens of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds as Tel Aviv press ahead to Judaize Palestinian lands.

The anger further intensified with deadly Israeli attacks on Palestinian worshipers in the al-Aqsa Mosque complex during the fasting days of the holy month of Ramadan.  Tel Aviv also launched a bloody aerial campaign against targets in Gaza, killing more than 70 Palestinians, including women and children.

The resistance movements in Gaza took Israel by surprise with massive barrages of retaliatory rockets. Since Monday evening, Hamas has fired around 1,500 rockets from Gaza, reportedly striking the heart of Tel Aviv and reaching Haifa and Nazareth in the north of the occupied territories.

Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement, which has been resisting against the years-long devastating Saudi war, has voiced Yemenis’ full support for the Palestinian people in their struggles against the occupying entity, saying that the Yemenis are closely coordinating with the resistance axis in the wake of the recent tensions.

The U.S. deployment of F-18 attack planes to Saudi Arabia came as President Joe Biden had claimed he would end “all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.”

The U.S. also deployed about 300 US airmen and F-16 fighter jets to Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia last month for an "expeditionary force deployment."   U.S. military officials had said the new forces are will partner with U.S. allies in the Middle East to “deliver airpower where and when needed.”