American commandos to locate Hamas hostages in Gaza. Special forces units arrived in Israel from the United States following the October 7 attack. The New York Times reports this. The newspaper quoted Christopher P. Maier, assistant secretary of Defense, as saying at a conference in Washington: “We are actively helping the Israelis do a number of things.” He added that the main task is to assist in the work of “identifying hostages, including American hostages. It’s really our responsibility to do that.”
US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the newspaper that several dozen US special operations units were sent, as well as a team that was already in Israel for training. In addition to helping locate hostages, American troops will also be used for evacuations and, if necessary, to protect embassies in the region. According to the newspaper, several Western countries have secretly moved special forces closer to Israel to assist with potential hostage rescues or large-scale evacuations from Israel or Lebanon if fighting escalates.
Hamas spokesman said yesterday that a “certain number” of hostages “with non-Israeli passports” will be released in the coming days. As for foreign citizens, not hostages, still in Gaza, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, after a bilateral meeting in Turin with his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, assured: “We will work together to try to help the civilian population of Gaza and for our fellow citizens who are still in the Gaza Strip to try to get them out as quickly as possible.”
Source: IL Tempo
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.
