- Two thousand Marines and sailors are heading toward Israel, a defense official told CNN.
- The US has so far deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups to the region.
US troops are making their way to the coast of Israel as the US continues to reiterate its support for the Middle Eastern country, CNN reported.
A defense official who spoke with the outlet said a rapid response force of 2,000 US Marines and sailors is headed toward the coast of Israel. It is unclear if this team would join the heavily armed US Navy carrier strike groups sent to the Mediterranean country's coast on Sunday. The USS Gerald R. Ford arrived last Tuesday, while the USS Eisenhower departed on Saturday.
Fox News reported that the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit was the Marine unit sent to Israel, according to an unnamed defense official.
The news comes after multiple outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and CNN, reported that the Pentagon alerted about 2,000 troops on Sunday to prepare should they need to be deployed in the region. Per the Journal, this deployment team, ordered by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, would provide Israel with medical care and advise Israeli forces.
Fox News reported that the troops on the rapid response team are separate from the ones warned about a potential deployment.
Multiple reports suggested that the move could bolster Israel ahead of its expected ground invasion of Gaza.
While US officials have not yet publicly confirmed the reports of troop mobilization, the news comes on the same day as an announcement of President Joe Biden's planned trip to Israel and Jordan on Wednesday. The President's visit to the war zone is a gesture of the US' continued support of Israel, one of the country's closest allies.
The Biden administration has previously said it will not provide combat troops to Israel. IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus restated this position on Tuesday on X, saying that Israel would not request combat support but appreciated the "logistic military intelligence and political support."
Following Hamas' terrorist attack last weekend, Israel declared war against the militant group and began an aerial bombardment of Gaza, a sliver of land that houses 2.3 million civilians. Human rights groups have called for an immediate end to the strikes and fighting.
At least 1,300 people have been killed in Israel. In Gaza, at least 2,808 people have been killed, as well as 58 people in the West Bank. Many of the casualties are civilians.
The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.