Pence: U.S. boots should be on the ground in Gaza to free American hostages

Republican presidential candidate Mike Pence said Sunday he would send troops into the Gaza Strip to free American hostages from the grips of Hamas if he were in the White House.

“We’ve got Americans being held by bloodthirsty terrorists in Gaza, and if I was president of the United States, I would have directed the Joint Special Operations Command to stand up Delta Force, to stand up the Navy SEALs, who do the best hostage rescues in the world,” the former vice president said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

While the U.S. has not sent troops into the Middle East region — at least to the public’s knowledge — the Biden administration has reaffirmed its support to Israel and is pushing for a military and humanitarian aid package.

Mr. Pence suggested there needs to be a greater sense of urgency and U.S. action when it comes to freeing any civilians who are Americans or hold dual citizenship. Two American hostages were released by Hamas last week after negotiations with the terrorist group through Qatar.

“You need to work with [Israeli Defense Force], and we need to tell Hamas, ‘You’ve got 12 hours to turn American and Israeli hostages loose, or we’re coming to get them,’” Mr. Pence said. “We are the leader of the free world. We are Israel’s strongest ally on the planet. We need to send a message to Hamas that you need to turn those hostages back over, or you’ll answer not just to Israeli Defense Forces, but you’ll answer to the United States armed forces.”