US sends military officers to Israel to advise on operations in Gaza

The White House is sending military officers to Israel to share their perspectives with the Israelis as they conduct operations in Gaza in the wake of attacks launched by the militant group Hamas.

National security spokesperson John Kirby confirmed Monday that a few military officers will go to Israel. He did not confirm who or exactly how many officials, though Axios reported that Marine Corps officers sent Lt. Gen. James Glynn.

“There are a few relevant military officers with experience — the kinds of experience that we believe is appropriate to the sorts of operations that Israel is conducting and may conduct in the future — to go over there to share some perspectives from their experience and to ask the hard questions,” Kirby said Monday.

“The same hard questions that we’ve been asking our Israeli counterparts since the beginning,” he added.

Israel has suggested it will launch a ground operation in Gaza after it has declared war on Hamas. Israel launched a retaliatory military attack on the Gaza Strip, which has been bombarded by airstrikes since the Oct. 7 attack with no sign of letting up.

Biden visited Israel last week. Over the weekend, he deflected when asked by reporters if he was encouraging Israelis to delay an invasion, responding with, “I’m talking to the Israelis.”