Commander of the Israeli Air Force Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar decided on Monday to suspend all overseas vacations for career service members in the branch.
Bar emphasized that trips abroad for meetings and training will need to be reapproved on an individual level.
Bar's decision comes amid peak tension in Israel ahead of attacks by Iran and Hezbollah, and as senior figures in the IRGC threatened that they are considering harming targets outside of Israel as well.
On Sunday night, the Pentagon announced that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had ordered the deployment of a guided missile submarine and the Abraham Lincoln strike group to the Middle East.
“Reinforcing this commitment, Secretary Austin has ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, equipped with F-35C fighters, to accelerate its transit to the Central Command area of responsibility, adding to the capabilities already provided by the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group,” the Pentagon said.
Austin has also “ordered the USS Georgia (SSGN 729) guided missile submarine to the Central Command region”, it added.