WASHINGTON — The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and its strike group are headed home from the Middle East after the Navy extended its deployment in response to the Israel-Hamas war in order to deter outside actors from widening the conflict, the Navy’s 6th Fleet said in a statement Monday.

“Immediately following Hamas’ brutal [Oct. 7] attack on Israel, the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group was ordered to the eastern Mediterranean to contribute to our regional deterrence and defense posture,” the Europe and Africa-based fleet said.

The carrier and its accompanying ships in its strike group will head home to Norfolk, Va. “in the coming days … to prepare for future deployments,” according to the statement. 

The Navy’s newest carrier, the Ford was nearing the end of its first deployment when its mission was extended following the assault by Hamas which killed approximately 1,200 people — including at least 33 Americans.

The strike group includes the guided missile cruiser USS Normandy, guided-missile destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney and USS Roosevelt, as well as eight squadrons of fighter and support aircraft.

The move comes as tensions simmer with Yemen-based, Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have launched continuous attacks on shipping vessels in the nearby Red Sea, which is connected to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal. 

After another attack on Sunday, the Eisenhower strike group killed 10 Houthis and sank three ships while responding to the attacked vessel’s distress call.

In response, Iran sent its Alborz destroyer into the Red Sea on Monday — a mostly symbolic move that defense experts have said communicates Tehran’s support for the Houthis but has little military impact.

However, the US is not planning to leave the area unmanned.

Another aircraft carrier, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, and its strike group joined the Ford in the Mediterranean in late October and remain in the region patrolling the Red Sea.

“The Department of Defense will continue to evaluate force posture globally and retain an extensive presence in the Middle East and Mediterranean,” the statement said.

In addition to the Eisenhower strike group, the USS Bataan amphibious assault ship and USS Carter Hall dock landing ship recently arrived in the eastern Mediterranean and will remain deployed to the region for the foreseeable future.

“The USS Bataan and USS Carter Hall join the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Mesa Verde and, with the embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, these ships have re-aggregated as the Amphibious Ready Group in the eastern Mediterranean,” the 6th Fleet said in its statement.

“The ARG/MEU consists of three ships and approximately 2,000 Marines that provide sea-based expeditionary forces capable of supporting a wide range of missions,” it added.

Additionally, several other international partners — including the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles and Spain — have deployed military assets to the Red Sea as part of the Pentagon’s “Operation Prosperity Guardian” coalition announced on Dec. 18.

The new coalition was formed to counter the growing number of Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, which has disrupted the key shipping route through which roughly one-eighth of all global trade passes.

The attacks have caused a growing number of shipping companies to avoid the Red Sea, which offers quick passage from the Mediterranean Sea to the Arabian Sea rather than forcing a lengthy detour around West Africa and through the Cape of Good Hope.

“This is an international challenge that demands collective action,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said while announcing the group’s creation. “The recent escalation in reckless Houthi attacks originating from Yemen threatens the free flow of commerce, endangers innocent mariners and violates international law.”