Editor’s Note: 50 years ago, in my time of service, you would never tell the enemy you were coming. This would place your team in great jeopardy but then again this is the new woke military.
U.S. special operations forces are reportedly on alert near Israel as senior officials asserted “door kickers” are ready to rescue an unknown number of American hostages as additional support arrived in the region.
President Joe Biden addressed the nation Tuesday and confirmed that of the more than 1,000 civilians butchered during Hamas’ ruthless attack against Israel, 14 Americans had been killed. Having completed a third call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu detailing the array of U.S. support en route and already present, senior officials fleshed out the president’s remarks and suggested Delta Force and SEAL Team Six likely awaiting a green light.
Speaking with The Messenger under the condition of anonymity, two senior U.S. military officials addressed the hostage situation in the Middle East where an estimated 150 people had been taken since Hamas attacked on Saturday.
They confirmed that U.S. special operation forces in a nearby European country were placed on alert and, according to the outlet, “Sources described these troops as ‘door kickers,’ who could conduct a rescue effort themselves, if ordered.”
As specified by The Messenger, those forces were said to fall under the Joint Special Operations Command of which, “The two main counterterrorism units under the Joint Special Operations Command that have historically undertaken hostage rescue missions globally are the Army’s Delta Force, known officially as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, and the Navy’s SEAL Team Six (Naval Special Warfare Development Group).”
While flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Biden had said, “We now know that American citizens are among those being held by Hamas. I’ve directed my team to share intelligence and deploy additional experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts.”
In the meantime, it was reported that hostage rescue experts had been dispatched by the U.S. to assist the Israel Defense Forces and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had noted as he traveled to Brussels Tuesday that the U.S. has “people on the ground” assisting “with intelligence and planning.”
Along with tactical units, support from the United States included the dispatch of the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, of which U.S. Central Command commander Gen. Michael Kurilla said, “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.”
As to the specifics on Americans remaining in danger on the ground in Israel and Gaza, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said during a press briefing Tuesday, “We do not know about their condition, and we cannot confirm the precise number of American citizens. We believe that there are 20 or more Americans who at this point are missing. But I want to underscore and stress that does not mean, necessarily, that there are 20 or more American hostages, just that is the number who are currently unaccounted for.”
Meanwhile, the IDF, which had called up over 300,000 reservists as a counteroffensive was mounted, had members awaiting flights from New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport prepared to join fellow Israelis.