The United States offered Israel special operations planning and intelligence support as part of the effort to rescue hostages taken by the Islamic group Hamas, which the United States and the European Union classify as a terrorist group, a U.S. defense official told Reuters. CNN .
Support would not bring American troops to Israel. Instead, assistance would come in the form of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
Support would include help from Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command, according to the official, as well as Joint Special Operations Command, which develops special operations tactics and plans.
The issue also came up in a call between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Israeli counterpart, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Austin later directed the team to “move forward” with planning and intelligence support for the Israeli military.
Israel has not publicly stated how many hostages were taken in Hamas’ surprise attack from Gaza, but officials have acknowledged the number is significant.
US authorities have struggled to determine how many of their citizens were killed or taken hostage in the conflict. According to President Joe Biden, there were at least 11.
“We haven’t seen any concrete numbers because it’s very fluid and many have dual citizenship. I think when the dust settles, the number will be significant,” another US official told CNN .
See images of the conflict between Israel and Hamas
Source: CNN Brasil
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