NORFOLK, Va. — The Norfolk-based destroyer USS McFaul is heading to the Middle East. This deployment comes a few days after new attacks in the region and as tension remains high despite cease fire agreements.
Families gathered at Naval Station Norfolk Tuesday to watch their sailors deploy.
“It’s going to be rough. It’s going to be a struggle," said Oran Kobobel.
His wife is on the ship. He said this will be their first time missing holidays since they've been together.
“I love him. I’m proud of him," said Sytinenia Palmer, whose husband is on the ship.
The McFaul will join another Norfolk-based destroyer, the USS Mitscher, in the region.
As CBS News has reported, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza over the weekend are reported to have injured and killed dozens a little over a month after President Trump announced a ceasefire had been reached between Israel and Hamas.
“We want to make sure it’s going to be very peaceful with Hamas. As you know, they’ve been quite rambunctious," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One in October after announcing the ceasefire.
Watch: Gaza ceasefire endures after weekend of violent clashes
When asked November 21 about the situation in the Middle East, Trump said “We’re working with everybody in the Middle East.”
Families of sailors on the McFaul said Tuesday they’re not letting a deployment to the region two days before Thanksgiving get them down.
“We had Thanksgiving last night and we had Christmas on Saturday," Kobobel said.
Watch: Military families find relief at Virginia Beach food pantry as financial pressures mount
“I kind of celebrated Christmas beforehand and gave him a present, had Christmas decorations up in the house," Crystal Lezama said.
“I kind of did the same thing. We had a little Thanksgiving-Christmas thing together," said Taya Nitzkowski.
Lezama and Nitzkowski both have husbands on the ship.
Meanwhile, other Norfolk-based ships, including the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, continued to operate in the Caribbean as part of the U.S.’s increasing military presence there over the past few months.
