US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. AP
“We also have the ability to rapidly deploy other resources into the region,” Austin said.
Austin released the information to reporters traveling with him to a Ukraine contact group meeting in Brussels.
The US government has confirmed that Hamas has taken American citizens captive without specifying how many are currently being held.
“I’ve directed my team to share intelligence and deploy additional experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts,” Biden said from the White House on Tuesday.
“Because as president, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans being held captive around the world."
Earlier on Tuesday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby indicated that the US government and Israeli officials have started to coordinate on hostage rescue efforts.
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