The US military has ordered 2,000 personnel to prepare for deployment to the Middle East.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered 2,000 troops to be ready Tuesday for a potential Middle East deployment amid conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group, Hamas.

“Today, Secretary Austin placed approximately 2,000 personnel and a range of units on a heightened state of readiness through a prepare to deploy order, which increases DoD’s ability to respond quickly to the evolving security environment in the Middle East,” Pentagon spokesman Sabrina Singh said in a statement.

“No decisions have been made to deploy any forces at this time,” she said.

“The strike group was nearing the end of its six-month deployment to the U.S. European Command area of responsibility,” she added.