Recovery of American hostages to be led by Israelis, US to advise
By Meghann Myers
Thursday, Oct 12
American military advisers are on the ground in Israel consulting with Israeli Defense Forces leaders about rescuing Americans and other hostages being held in Gaza, where Hamas militants took captured civilians following Saturday’s attacks on Israel, a senior defense official confirmed to reporters on Thursday. There is currently no plan to send in American special operations units to help, the official added.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday confirmed that Americans are among hostages taken by Hamas, though the White House has not given an estimate of the number of hostages beyond calling it “less than a handful.”
“There are personnel on the ground as part of a larger assistance package in support of [U.S. Central Command],” the Pentagon official, who was not authorized to speak on the record about the Israel situation, told reporters. “And that includes military personnel advising and consulting on hostage recovery efforts.”
The official did not confirm whether those advisers are from Joint Special Operations Command, the wing of U.S. Special Operations Command that deploys specialized units like the Army’s Delta Force or the Navy’s SEAL Team 6.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2023/10/12/american-hostage-recovery-to-be-led-by-israeli-forces-us-to-advise/
