About 2,000 U.S. troops told to prepare for deployment in response to Israel-Hamas war

Approximately 2,000 U.S. troops have been put on prepare-to-deploy orders for possible support to Israel, according to a defense official.

The troops are not being sent anywhere yet, nor would they necessarily go to Israel or Gaza. If deployed, they would go to a nearby country to be prepared to support Israel in the war against Hamas, the official said.

These who received the orders were already on a 96-hour prepare-to-deploy status, which has now been shortened to 24 hours.

Those being deployed would include service members with a variety of capabilities and specialties, including providing medical support and handling explosives.

For more on this story go to NBCNews.com.

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