The US has sent military officers to Israel to serve as advisors amid preparations for an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza, demonstrating the deep US involvement in Israel’s war.
Leading the officers is Lt. Gen. James Glynn, a three-star Marine Corps general who previously headed the Marines’ special operations and was involved in the US war against ISIS in Iraq.
According to Axios, Glynn and the other officers are not directing any operations but will provide advice about its plans in Gaza with the primary focus on the coming invasion. The US officers are sharing lessons they learned fighting ISIS in Mosul, Iraq, where a brutal nine-month battle took thousands of civilian lives.
According to an AP investigation from 2017, between 9,000 and 11,000 civilians died in the Battle of Mosul. About a third were killed by US-led coalition airstrikes or Iraqi forces, a third were killed by ISIS, and the cause of death for the rest is undetermined.
Since the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, Israeli airstrikes have been relentlessly pounding the besieged Gaza Strip. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 5,087 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza so far, including 2,055 children.
Israel’s invasion is expected to be focused on north Gaza as the Israeli military has told the 1.1 million Palestinians living in the area to evacuate. According to threatening leaflets dropped by the Israeli military, Palestinians who stay in the north will be considered “terrorist accomplices.”
Source: AntiWar.
