U.S. to continue to back Israel; Iran throws support to Hezbollah

Transcript

00:00 Meanwhile, the United States has made it clear it is in full backup of Israel and its raging

00:05 war against the Hamas extremist group in Gaza.

00:08 With tensions rising from Arab nations, in particular Iran backed Hezbollah and the nation

00:14 of Iran itself.

00:16 America has deployed two aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean to serve as deterrence

00:21 and to escalate actions if need be, as VOA's Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports.

00:27 As Israeli forces prepare for the next stages of their war against the militant Palestinian

00:35 group Hamas, concerns of it becoming a wider conflict haven't subsided.

00:41 In that context, the United States announced additional deployments of air defense systems

00:46 to the region.

00:48 Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin explained the move on ABC's This Week show.

00:53 "Recently we've seen rocket and UAV attacks against bases housing our troops in Iraq and

01:00 Syria.

01:01 We maintain the right to defend ourselves and we won't hesitate to take the appropriate

01:11 action."

01:12 Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who recently toured the region, emphasized that the boost

01:17 in U.S. military presence is a deterrent measure.

01:21 He was interviewed on NBC's Meet the Press.

01:23 "We don't want to see a second or third front develop.

01:27 We don't want to see our forces or our personnel come under fire.

01:30 But if that happens, we're ready for it."

01:33 On the humanitarian front, Turkey became one of the latest countries to send aid for Palestinian

01:39 civilians.

01:40 But the flow of convoys carrying supplies across Egypt's Rafah crossing into Gaza has

01:46 been too slow, said Cindy McCain, the executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, in

01:52 an interview with ABC.

01:54 "We were able to feed about 200,000 people last night during dinner.

01:59 But that's not enough.

02:00 That's a drop.

02:01 People are starving.

02:02 But also, this is a national security issue for everyone in this region."

02:06 With the stakes so high in the Middle East, it's imperative that the Republican majority

02:11 in the U.S. House of Representatives elect a speaker, said the chair of the Foreign Affairs

02:16 Committee, Republican Michael McCaul.

02:19 He spoke on ABC about the deadlock to fill the seat that has remained vacant since Kevin

02:24 McCarthy was ousted at the beginning of October.

02:27 "The world's on fire.

02:29 This is so dangerous what we're doing.

02:32 And most importantly, it's embarrassing because it empowers and emboldens our adversaries."

02:37 Despite the urgency, McCaul acknowledged that he doesn't know if a speaker will be elected

02:43 this coming week or how the process will play out.

02:48 Veronica Valderaziglesias, VOA News, Washington.