The US has sent hostage rescue experts to advise the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on the release of the 150 hostages – including possibly some Americans – kidnapped by Hamas during the bloody attack on Israel.

According to sources cited by The Messenger website, the United States has sent advisers from the intelligence community to reinforce a US special operations team stationed at the US embassy in Israel.

US sends hostage rescue experts to Israel and puts special ops “door kickers” on alert https://t.co/AWqVcCsO6p

— The Messenger (@TheMessenger) October 11, 2023

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed Tuesday that Washington has “people in the field” who will assist Israeli authorities “with intelligence and planning” for possible hostage rescue operations.

Austin said the Pentagon has a “liaison cell” in Israel that works with Israeli special forces. He also said the US has the ability to “rapidly deploy other resources in the region”.

Meanwhile, US special operations forces have been put on alert in a “nearby European country,” according to two senior US military officials who spoke to The Messenger on condition of anonymity.

The sources said the units could conduct a rescue operation themselves if ordered to do so. For now, however, there is no indication that these U.S. forces will assist in any ground operations in Israel, the sources said. But they are only a few hours away by plane if they need to intervene.

The officials did not say what kind of special operations forces were put on alert but said they were under the Joint Special Operations Command.

The two main counterterrorism units under Joint Special Operations Command that have historically undertaken hostage rescue missions worldwide are Delta Force, formally known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, and the Navy’s SEAL Team Six (Naval Special Warfare Development Group).

SEAL Team Six is an elite group of the U.S. Armed Forces shrouded in secrecy. Its activities became more widely known in 2011 when its members carried out the mission to eliminate Osama bin Laden at the isolated Abbottabad estate in Pakistan.

The White House said 11 Americans were killed in Israel and several are still missing. Officials have not confirmed that Americans are among the hostages, but on Tuesday, family members of four Americans came forward to say they believe their loved ones were kidnapped in the Gaza Strip.