MOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/. A US Air Force F-16 squadron deployment to the Middle East requires close attention and Russia follows the latest developments in the region attentively, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

"Undoubtedly, this is a cause for our very close attention. Naturally, we closely follow the developments in the region. As for provocations, there have been none until now and that is why I cannot say anything on this score. This is rather an issue that should be addressed to our military," the Russian presidential spokesman said, replying to a question about whether there was a risk that the US squadron might be used for provocations against Russia.

Earlier, the Pentagon deployed a squadron of F-16 fighter-bombers to the Middle East in an effort to bolster US forces in the region. The United States has been deploying a large reinforcement in the Middle East lately amid a sharp escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In the wake of this escalation, the United States has primarily sent two aircraft carrier strike groups to the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian Hamas movement staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and began delivering missile strikes on the besieged Palestinian enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place on the West Bank of the Jordan River.