American Troops Headed To Gaza

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Thousands of American soldiers are being deployed to the front lines of an escalating conflict between the state of Israel and militants affiliated with the terrorist group Hamas – which launched a coordinated surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

At least 2,000 Marines were en route to Gaza this week – with another 2,000 military personnel put on standby.

Israel has embarked on a massive retaliatory campaign in the intervening week-and-a-half – and is reportedly preparing a ground offensive into Gaza, the region from which the terrorist attacks were launched.

Casualty counts from the region are notoriously unreliable, but as of this writing Israeli officials say 1,400 of their citizens have been killed and another 200 taken captive. More than 4,000 Israelis have been wounded. The Hamas-led government in Gaza estimates the death toll from Israel’s ongoing counterattack at approximately 3,500 – with another 12,000-14,000 wounded.

At least thirty Americans have been killed in the conflict according to U.S. president Joe Biden, who traveled to the region on Wednesday to underscore American support for Israel.

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America’s role in equipping the Israeli war machine is well-known. U.S. taxpayers have subsidized Israel’s defense to the tune of $3.8 billion annually for the past decade – not counting supplemental appropriations.

“The bombs that are falling on the people of Gaza belong to you,”  Ebrahim Raisi, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran said this week.

Raisi vowed “severe revenge” against Israel and its allies, including the United States, in the event an occupation of Gaza was undertaken.

News of the initial American deployment was first reported by The Wall Street Journal – although according to that report troops had merely been instructed to “prepare to deploy.”

“No decisions have been made to deploy any forces at this time,” a statement from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) noted. “The secretary will continue to assess our force posture and remain in close contact with allies and partners.”

According to our sources, at least several hundred members of the new American expeditionary force will come from Fort Liberty – f.k.a. Fort Bragg – in Cumberland County, North Carolina. It is not immediately clear which units from Fort Liberty are deploying … but the soldiers currently packing their bags are under no illusion as to where they are being deployed.

“We are headed to Gaza,” a source familiar with the deployment told this news outlet. “We were told this morning to pack up. Just us now but more coming later.”

In addition to ground troops, the naval battle group linked to the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) – which recently deployed in northern Europe – saw its eastern Mediterranean deployment extended. Pentagon officials also ordered a second carrier group affixed to the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) to the region in the aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven (soon to be eight) children.

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