The Pentagon is sending military advisers and sophisticated air defense systems to Israel ahead of an anticipated ground assault into Gaza by Israel’s military.
One of the officers leading the assistance is Marine Corps Lt Gen James Glynn, who previously helped lead special operations forces against the Islamic State and served a high-profile role during intense combat in Falluja, one of the bloodiest and most controversial centers of battle for US forces during the war in Iraq.
Glynn will also be advising on how to mitigate civilian casualties during urban warfare, a US official told the Associated Press, on condition of anonymity.
Israel is preparing a large-scale ground operation in an environment in which Hamas militants based in Gaza have had years to prepare tunnel networks and set traps throughout northern Gaza’s dense urban blocks. Glynn and the other military officers who are advising Israel “have experience that is appropriate to the sorts of operations that Israel is conducting”, the national security council spokesman, John Kirby, said on Monday in a briefing at the White House.
The US advisers will not be engaged in any fighting, the US official said, adding that Glynn will also be offering guidance on mitigating civilian casualties during urban warfare.
The military team is one of many fast-moving pieces the Pentagon is getting in place to try to prevent the already intense conflict between Israel and Hamas from becoming a wider war.
It also is trying to protect US personnel, who in the last few days have come under repeated attacks in Iraq and Syria, chiefly as a result of armed drones, that the Pentagon has said were probably endorsed by Iran.
Kirby said Iran was “in some cases actively facilitating these attacks and spurring on others who may want to exploit the conflict for their own good, or for that of Iran. We know that Iran’s goal is to maintain some level of deniability here. But we’re not going to allow them to do that.”
On Monday, the US military garrison at al-Tanf, Syria, came under attack again, this time by two drones.
Last Thursday, the US destroyer USS Carney shot down four land-attack cruise missiles launched from Yemen that the Pentagon has said were potentially headed towards Israel.
Over the weekend, the Pentagon announced it was sending multiple Patriot missile defense system battalions and a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system to the Middle East, as well as repositioning the US aircraft carrier Eisenhower-led strike group to the US Central Command (Centcom) area of responsibility. Florida-based Centcom has authority over US forces in the Middle East and in west and central Asia. The ship had previously been en route to the eastern Mediterranean.
The shift means that the navy will have a carrier strike group off the shore of Israel – the Ford carrier strike group – and another, the Eisenhower, potentially maneuvered to defend US forces and Israel from the Red Sea or the Gulf of Oman.
“We’re going to continue to do what we need to do to protect and safeguard our forces and take all necessary measures,” the official said. “No one wants to see a wider regional conflict. But we will not hesitate to protect our forces.”
The Associated Press contributed reporting
