OAN’s Frank Lara-Risco
11:12 PM – Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated that the United States has “people on the ground” to better help Israel in their ongoing efforts to free hostages from Hamas terrorists.
Austin made the comment to reporters while traveling to Brussels on Tuesday.
He also stated that the Defense Department has a Liaison Cell working with Israeli special forces.
He did not provide any specific details about U.S. personnel who was involved.
However, reports did say that the U.S. Delta Force and Seal Team Six are on standby in order to assist in rescue efforts.
Hamas is currently holding dozens of hostages, including several Americans. The terrorist organization is also threatening to carry out executions of those hostages on live television in response to Israeli air strikes on Gaza.
“We don’t have any fidelity on the exact number of potential American hostages,” Austin said. “You should know, though, that we are absolutely focused on this and our intelligence community is working hard to gain as much fidelity as possible. When I spoke to Minister (Yoav) Gallant on Sunday, I offered our assistance to our special operators who help us, special operators, our intelligence community.”
At least 22 Americans have been killed in the attacks. Additionally, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says more than 20 are missing.
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