IP - Amid nonstop Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, the US secretly expands a military base in the Israeli-occupied Negev desert near the besieged enclave, a report indicated.

Iran Press/ West Asia: The US secret military base is located in the Negev desert, just 32km from Gaza, according to a report by the American news organization The Intercept.

Code-named "Site 512," the construction at the radar facility atop Mt. Har Qeren will include what US military records describe as a “life support facility”, or barracks-like structures for staff.

The Intercept said on Friday the $35.8m facility, which was not publicly announced or previously reported, was obliquely referenced in an August 2 contract announcement by the Pentagon.

The report comes as US President Joe Biden and his administration claim that Washington has no plan whatsoever to deploy US troops inside Israel to engage in the current war but a secret US military presence in the occupied Palestinian territories already exists, and government contracts and budget documents show it is evidently increasing.

The US military has already sent two aircraft carrier groups to the Mediterranean – namely USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

They include one missile cruiser, at least two destroyers, and dozens of aircraft including jet fighters alongside around 5,000 troops.

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