U.S. ‘Fusion Cells’ Assist in Israel’s Hunt for Hamas Leaders

American commandos and intelligence officers began helping Israel soon after the Oct. 7 attacks last year.

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An MQ-9 Reaper drone. U.S. Special Operations forces have flown at least six of them on missions to assist in locating hostages, monitor for signs of life and pass potential leads to the Israel Defense Forces, officials said.

Days after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Pentagon quietly dispatched several dozen commandos to Israel to help advise on hostage recovery efforts, U.S. officials said.

Those troops from the Joint Special Operations Command were quickly joined by a group of intelligence officers, some working with the commandos in Israel and others back at the C.I.A. headquarters in Langley, Va.

For more than a year much of the attention, and criticism, around American support for Israel has focused on the U.S.-made bombs and weaponry Israel has used to attack Gaza.

But the intelligence assistance to Israel has also been crucial. U.S. intelligence helped locate the four hostages who were rescued by Israeli commandos in June.

And from nearly the beginning of the war, the U.S. military and intelligence cells were focused not just on looking for hostages, but also hunting for the top leaders of Hamas.

America’s top brass is not claiming credit for the Israeli operation that killed Hamas’s leader Yahya Sinwar, an architect of the Oct. 7 attack. But they note that their intelligence aided the hunt.

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