As the Israel-Hamas war intensifies, the Pentagon announced 2,000 U.S. soldiers have been put on “prepare-to-deploy” notice to provide support for Israel in a non-combat role. U.S. defense officials say the troops are already stationed in the Middle East and in Europe, and they will be tasked with missions like providing medical support and advising Israeli troops.
More than a million Palestinian Gazans have left their homes as Israel’s military warned citizens Friday, Oct. 13, to evacuate as Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops prepare for a ground invasion.
On Tuesday, Oct. 17, IDF announced on social media platform X that they killed Ayman Nofal, a senior Hamas operative, responsible for directing attacks against Israelis.
Hamas confirmed Nofal’s death.
President Joe Biden is set to visit Israel and Jordan on Wednesday and Thursday to meet with senior officials and demonstrate the United States’ support for Israel.
From Tel Aviv, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Biden’s agenda.
“President Biden will again make clear, as he’s done unequivocally since Hamas slaughtered more than 1,400 people, including at least 30 Americans that Israel has the right, and indeed the duty, to defend its people from Hamas and other terrorists and to prevent future attacks,” Blinken said in a news conference.
Blinken said Biden will focus on getting aid to Israel so it can defend itself against Hamas. The president will be briefed on Israel’s war plans and coordinate with Israeli partners to help secure the release of Hamas’ hostages, all while helping to get humanitarian aid into Gaza for the two million Palestinians living in the enclave.
On Monday, Hamas terrorists released video of one of their hostages: a 21-year-old French-Israeli woman named Mia Schem.
In the video, Mia said she went to a hospital in Gaza after suffering an arm injury and someone can be seen in the video wrapping her arm. Mia said she wants to go home to her parents and siblings as soon as possible. Her mother, Karen Schem, spoke about seeing a video of her daughter in captivity.
“She looks very terrified,” Karen said. “She looks like she’s in big pain. I can see that she’s saying what they tell her to say, but I can see that she’s stable. I can see that she needs medical care.”
No media outlets have been able to verify when and where the video of Mia was taken, or what condition she is in at this time.
Right now, it’s unclear how many hostages may be in Hamas’ custody. An IDF spokesperson said they believe Hamas kidnapped at least 199 people but the number could be higher.
