American officials have revealed that, in the days following the attack by the Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas” on settlements and military bases around the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, which was named “Al-Aqsa Flood,” the United States rushed to send dozens of elite commando forces to Israel. Their mission was to provide guidance and support in retrieving Israeli captives held within the Strip.
According to The New York Times, this was followed by the deployment of several CIA officers, some of whom were stationed in Israel, while others operated from the agency’s headquarters in Virginia, USA.
The report confirmed that U.S. intelligence had previously assisted in the retrieval of four Israeli captives last June.
Since the onset of the conflict, American military and intelligence cells have been primarily focused not only on locating hostages but also on tracking down senior Hamas leaders. Although they do not claim direct involvement in the assassination of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, they acknowledge that their intelligence efforts played a role in the hunt for him.
In a statement last Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden said, following the announcement of Sinwar’s death: “Shortly after October 7, I directed U.S. special operations forces and professional intelligence officers to work alongside their Israeli counterparts to assist in locating and tracking down Sinwar and other Hamas leaders hiding in Gaza.”
Senior officials cited in the report stated that U.S. “fusion cells” redirected their focus towards actionable intelligence, specifically concerning the whereabouts of hostages, and at times, the locations of Hamas leadership.
Simultaneously, officials from the U.S. Department of Defense emphasized that they do not directly partake in the Israeli military operations on the ground in Gaza, which have led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians and have left the Strip in ruins.
American officials noted that top White House officials have regularly met with CIA Director William Burns and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin regarding additional support that might be required by the targeting cells to expedite the pursuit of Sinwar.
At least six MQ-9 Reaper drones, operated by U.S. special forces, have been conducting missions to assist in pinpointing the location of hostages, monitoring for signs of life, and relaying potential evidence.
Officials clarified that while these drones cannot map the vast tunnel network used by the Palestinian resistance, their infrared radar can detect heat signatures of individuals entering or exiting the tunnels from above ground.
In the end, Sinwar was killed in a direct confrontation above ground, marking him as Israel’s most valuable target ever.
On Thursday, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder stated that no U.S. forces were directly involved in the operation that led to Sinwar’s death, stressing that it was an Israeli mission.
However, American officials insist that the United States played a key role in gathering the intelligence that helped the Israeli military narrow down their search.
