US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that his country provided support to Israel to locate prisoners held by the resistance in the Gaza Strip, and at the same time stressed that it did not participate in the operation on the ground.

Sullivan indicated in an interview with the American ABC network that Washington has been supporting Tel Aviv in "retrieving hostages from Gaza for months, and not just during this operation."

Sullivan's statements came after several news sources announced that the United States was involved in the Nuseirat camp operation, which took place during the recovery of 4 prisoners from the resistance, during which the occupation army carried out a major massacre that claimed the lives of more than 200 Palestinian martyrs.

Yesterday, Axios reported - quoting an official in the US administration - that what it described as the "American kidnappers cell in Israel" helped in the return of the prisoners.

American contribution

For its part, CNN quoted an unnamed American official as saying that an American cell in Israel contributed to the operation with the Israeli forces. Meanwhile, the American New York Times confirmed that intelligence information from the United States and the United Kingdom helped the Israeli army recover prisoners. Al-Nuseirat, and that the information was collected with the help of launching drones over Gaza and intercepting conversations.

It quoted an unnamed American official as saying that a team of American hostage recovery officials stationed in Israel helped the Israeli army by providing intelligence and other logistical support, but it did not clarify the nature of the logistical support that Washington provided to Tel Aviv.

Regarding the prisoner exchange deal, the US National Security Advisor told CNN that Washington wants “a ceasefire, but that will not be achieved without Hamas’ approval of the deal.”

As is usual with American officials, Sullivan called for pressure on Hamas to accept what was offered to it, as “the Palestinians and we all need the deal, and Hamas must be pressured to achieve that.”

Yesterday, Sullivan said in a statement, "The United States supports all efforts aimed at securing the release of hostages still being held by Hamas, including American citizens, whether through ongoing negotiations or other means."

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies