Israel and US Special Forces in the field: “Sent dozens of units”

US commandos locate Hamas hostages in Gaza. Special Forces units from the United States arrived in Israel following the October 7 attack. The New York Times reported this. The newspaper quoted Christopher B. “We are actively helping the Israelis do a number of things,” Meir, assistant secretary of defense, told a conference in Washington. He added that the main task is to help work to “identify the hostages, including the American hostages. It is really our responsibility to do that.”

American officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the newspaper that dozens of American special operations units had been sent, in addition to a team already in Israel for training. In addition to helping to locate hostages, US forces will also be used for evacuations and, if necessary, to protect embassies in the area. According to the newspaper, several Western countries have secretly moved special forces near Israel to assist in possible hostage rescue operations or large-scale evacuations from Israel or Lebanon if the fighting expands.

A Hamas spokesman said yesterday that a “certain number” of hostages “who hold non-Israeli passports” will be released in the coming days. As for the foreign citizens, not hostages, who remain in Gaza, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani confirmed, after a bilateral meeting in Turin with his French counterpart Catherine Colonna: “We will work together to try to help the civilian population in Gaza.” Our fellow citizens who are still in the Gaza Strip should try to get them out as quickly as possible.”