The U.S. government is assisting Israel in its efforts to find and rescue the roughly 100-150 hostages being held by terrorist groups in Gaza.
U.S. officials have reiterated their support for the Middle Eastern ally after last weekend’s terrorist attack, carried out by Hamas and other terrorist groups based in Gaza, that has resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, most of whom are Israeli. While the death toll continues to rise as Israeli forces uncover the atrocities in the southern part of the country, the country is now focused on retaliating against the perpetrators and trying to recover the hostages Hamas took back to Gaza.
ISRAEL WAR: FACT-CHECKING WHITE HOUSE TALKING POINTS ON IRAN AND HAMAS
“I’ve directed my team to share intelligence and deploy additional experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise the Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts because, as president, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans being held hostage around the world,” President Joe Biden said on Tuesday.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that the president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed “how the United States can deploy expertise to help work on the hostage recovery efforts. That is what the United States is in the process of doing right now.”
Sullivan discounted the idea of American troops being deployed to fight in Israel’s declared war.
“At this point, that is not something that is under planning. What we are focused on when we talk about sending experts, it is people who can work on intelligence, who can work on overall planning, who can work on coordination with the Israeli government,” he explained. “We are not currently sending forces to Israel. And I’ll leave it at that for now.”
Hamas threatened to execute the hostages and broadcast it online if Israel would not cease its retaliatory strikes in Gaza.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Fourteen Americans were among the victims of last weekend’s terrorist attack, while another “20 or more” remain unaccounted for, Sullivan added. However, he stressed that the U.S. is unsure whether these missing Americans are among the kidnapping victims.
The U.S. military has strengthened its posture in the region, which was a decision made to act as a deterrent to other adversaries of Israel, ensuring they don’t try to capitalize while Israel is focused on recovering from the attack and retaliating against Hamas. It also sent munitions and other military aid to Israel, the first of which the Israel Defense Forces said has already arrived.
