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Thousands of US Sailors, Marines Reach Middle East after Iran Tensions 

A US Navy sailor from USS Bataan (LHD 5) stands watch as the amphibious assault ship transits the Suez Canal, Egypt, with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), deployed to the US 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region, in this photo taken on August 6, 2023. (US Naval Forces Central Command/US 5th Fleet/Handout via Reuters)
A US Navy sailor from USS Bataan (LHD 5) stands watch as the amphibious assault ship transits the Suez Canal, Egypt, with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), deployed to the US 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region, in this photo taken on August 6, 2023. (US Naval Forces Central Command/US 5th Fleet/Handout via Reuters)
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Thousands of US Sailors, Marines Reach Middle East after Iran Tensions 

A US Navy sailor from USS Bataan (LHD 5) stands watch as the amphibious assault ship transits the Suez Canal, Egypt, with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), deployed to the US 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region, in this photo taken on August 6, 2023. (US Naval Forces Central Command/US 5th Fleet/Handout via Reuters)
A US Navy sailor from USS Bataan (LHD 5) stands watch as the amphibious assault ship transits the Suez Canal, Egypt, with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), deployed to the US 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region, in this photo taken on August 6, 2023. (US Naval Forces Central Command/US 5th Fleet/Handout via Reuters)

More than 3,000 US military personnel have arrived in the Red Sea aboard two warships, as part of increased deployments after tanker seizures by Iran, the US Navy said Monday.

The US sailors and Marines entered the Red Sea on Sunday after transiting through the Suez Canal in a pre-announced deployment, the US Navy's Fifth Fleet said in a statement.

They arrived on board the USS Bataan and USS Carter Hall warships, providing "greater flexibility and maritime capability" to the Fifth Fleet, the statement added.

The US military says Iran has either seized or attempted to take control of nearly 20 internationally flagged ships in the region over the past two years.

USS Bataan is an amphibious assault ship which can carry fixed-wing and rotary aircraft as well as landing craft. The USS Carter Hall, a dock landing ship, transports Marines, their gear, and lands them ashore.

"These units add significant operational flexibility and capability as we work... to deter destabilizing activity and deescalate regional tensions caused by Iran's harassment and seizures of merchant vessels," Fifth Fleet spokesman Commander Tim Hawkins told AFP.

The deployment comes after Washington said its forces blocked two attempts by Iran to seize commercial tankers in international waters off Oman on July 5.

The maritime services in Iran said one of the two tankers, the Bahamian-flagged Richmond Voyager, had collided with an Iranian vessel, seriously injuring five crew members, according to state news agency IRNA.

In April and early May, Iran seized two oil tankers within a week in regional waters.

Those incidents came after Israel and the United States blamed Iran in November for what they said was a drone strike against a tanker operated by an Israeli-owned firm carrying gas oil off the coast of Oman.

The US announced last month that it would deploy a destroyer, F-35 and F-16 warplanes, along with the Amphibious Readiness Group/Marine Expeditionary Unit, to the Middle East to deter Iran from seizing ships in the Gulf.

Last week, a US official told AFP that Washington is also preparing to deploy Marines and Navy personnel aboard commercial tankers transiting the Gulf as an added layer of defense.

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Hamas Says It Will Release American-Israeli Hostage Edan Alexander on Monday

FILE PHOTO: Varda Ben Baruch, grandmother of hostage Edan Alexander, points at the portrait of Edan, as family members and supporters of hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7 attack, stand near the kibbutz defense on the day they use giant loudspeakers to call their captive loved ones over the border between Israel and Gaza, at Kibbutz Nir Oz, in southern Israel, April 20, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Varda Ben Baruch, grandmother of hostage Edan Alexander, points at the portrait of Edan, as family members and supporters of hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7 attack, stand near the kibbutz defense on the day they use giant loudspeakers to call their captive loved ones over the border between Israel and Gaza, at Kibbutz Nir Oz, in southern Israel, April 20, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
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Hamas Says It Will Release American-Israeli Hostage Edan Alexander on Monday

FILE PHOTO: Varda Ben Baruch, grandmother of hostage Edan Alexander, points at the portrait of Edan, as family members and supporters of hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7 attack, stand near the kibbutz defense on the day they use giant loudspeakers to call their captive loved ones over the border between Israel and Gaza, at Kibbutz Nir Oz, in southern Israel, April 20, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Varda Ben Baruch, grandmother of hostage Edan Alexander, points at the portrait of Edan, as family members and supporters of hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7 attack, stand near the kibbutz defense on the day they use giant loudspeakers to call their captive loved ones over the border between Israel and Gaza, at Kibbutz Nir Oz, in southern Israel, April 20, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo

The Hamas militant group says it will release the last living American-Israeli hostage held in Gaza on Monday.

In a statement, Hamas did not immediately disclose further details about the release.

Hamas had announced on Sunday that it would free Edan Alexander as a good will gesture for the Trump administration.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli authorities on the timing of the release. The Israeli prime minister’s office said earlier Monday that the release was expected, without mentioning when. It said it hadn’t committed to a ceasefire as part of the release, but would create a “safe corridor” to allow Alexander's release.

Alexander, an Israeli soldier, was taken captive on Oct. 7, 2023.

Alexander’s family, which is based in the US, was on route to Israel, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing the captives' families.