Israel has called up over 300,000 reservists to fight in the war against Hamas, and the United States will be sending some of its elites to join the fight. Delta Force and SEAL Team Six members have been put on standby in a European country near Israel, as the death toll in Israel has reached over 1,200 on Tuesday. Officials continue to search communities for bodies as death count continues to rise.
The Pentagon has confirmed that 20 Americans are missing and U.S. hostage negotiators are already in Israel in order to work alongside Israeli counterparts. Negotiators will work alongside a team already in place, working out of the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv, The Messenger reported.
Put on standby, America’s two main counterterrorism units under the Joint Special Operations Command are the Army’s Delta Force and Navy’s SEAL Team Six, the group that famously killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. U.S. military officials told The Messenger that the counterterrorism units, labeled ‘door kickers’ have been put on standby in a nearby European country.
The elite units are ready to assist Israel if necessary; the military sources told the website that there was currently no indication the U.S. special forces would be sent to Israel, but they were only a few hours away by plane if need be. The military officials would not confirm which units were being readied, but said they fell under the Joint Special Operations Command.
Austin said the Pentagon has a ‘liaison cell’ in Israel working with Israeli special operations forces. Austin also said the U.S. has the ability to “rapidly deploy other resources into the region.”
“The arrival of these highly capable forces to the region is a strong signal of deterrence should any actor hostile to Israel consider trying to take advantage of this situation,” said Gen. Michael ‘Erik’ Kurilla, who oversees U.S. Central Command (CENTCOMM).