Ten U.S. Transport Aircraft Reportedly Land at Ovda and Nevatim Bases

Ten American transport aircraft landed at the Israeli Air Force's Ovda and Nevatim bases in southern Israel, according to reports published Thursday evening. The reported arrivals come amid preparations concerning possible renewed fighting with Iran and continuing military coordination between Israel and the United States. The aircraft were reported to have come from Fort Bliss in Texas, described in the reports as a major American air-defense center that holds interceptors and defensive batteries. Their cargo was not established in the accounts. Interceptors and air-defense batteries were described as likely cargo, while replenishing ammunition and bringing additional defensive systems were also raised as possibilities. The reported flights to Israel were described as part of a wider American airlift that also reached Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Those accounts placed the movements in the context of regional defensive preparations, without establishing that a particular weapons system had been delivered to either Israeli base. An unnamed Israeli official quoted in the reporting said: "Israel and the United States are in close coordination." The official said the countries were preparing for whatever decision President Donald Trump might make, while stressing that no decision had yet been made. The reported landings therefore did not establish that an American attack on Iran had been ordered.