The US Department of Defense has four areas of focus in the Middle East.

Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder has named the goals of the US:

• Protection of US forces and citizens in the region.
• Flow of critical security assistance to Israel as it defends against further Hamas terrorist attacks.
• Coordination with the Israelis to help secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, to include American citizens.
• Strengthening of force posture across the region to deter any state or nonstate actors from escalating the crisis beyond Gaza.

The strengthened force posture includes the deployment of aircraft carrier strike groups USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which are now in the US Central Command area, along with an Ohio-class submarine.

Ryder said Iranian proxy groups have attacked the Al-Assad airbase in Iraq and the Al-Tanf airbase in Syria over the past few weeks.

The official said the drone attacks and missile strikes had left several dozen people injured, including minor trauma and head injuries.

Some of the injured had not immediately reported their condition, he said.