The Israeli military welcomed the deployment of a US nuclear missile submarine to the region amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

Israel Defense Forces' spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Hecht called it "good news" to see the US support coming into the area, having a "stabilizing" effect on the region amidst Israel's war on Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The US military announced on Sunday that the Ohio-class submarine has been deployed to the US Central Command's area of responsibility, which includes the Middle East as part of its efforts to support Israel in its war against Hamas.

The war, which began after a Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7, has since seen Iran's proxies in the region attacking US facilities, with around 20 US personnel injured.

Iranian proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq have targeted Israel since the Hamas invasion which was the single most deadly day for Jews since the Holocaust, seeing 1,400 mostly civilians murdered and 241 taken hostage.

The submarine deployment also follows aircraft carrier deployments in addition to 2,000 Marines to the region. Around 30 attacks have been carried out against US assets in Iraq and Syria, with just one retaliation from the US as the Biden administration attempts to appease Iran.

This week, secretary of state Antony Blinken, made a clear statement to Iran: “We’re not looking for conflict with Iran – we’ve made that very clear – but we’ll do what’s necessary to protect our personnel, be they military or civilian,”