President Joe Biden has reportedly sent a small number of high-level United States military officers to Israel, including James Glynn, a three-star Marine Corps lieutenant general. Glynn previously commanded the Marine Corps’s special operations unit and led Operation Inherent Resolve, the coalitional war against the Islamic State, from July 2017 to July 2018.

The news came after an interview secretary of state Antony Blinken gave to CBS on Sunday in which he said the U.S. government is assisting Israel in its preparation for an expected ground operation in Gaza. Israel has been preparing for such an offensive — which Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged will be difficult — since Hamas launched an unprecedented large-scale attack on the Jewish state on October 7.

The U.S. military officers will not run the Gaza offensive but will provide advice based on experience combatting ISIS in Syria, according to Axios, which first reported the deployment.

The Biden administration has urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay the ground invasion into Gaza in order to buy more time to secure the release of hostages and to keep humanitarian aid flowing into the strip, the New York Times reported.

These officers are not the first U.S. military personnel to go to Israel. On October 16, the Biden administration dispatched the amphibious ship USS Bataan (LHD-5), with a Marine detachment aboard, to the eastern Mediterranean to provide logistical advice and medical assistance. The president has also deployed the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the seas off the coast of Israel.

On Saturday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the U.S. would increase its military presence in the Middle East in order to “bolster regional deterrence efforts” against actors that might wish to capitalize on the oncoming Israeli ground operation in Gaza. The full extent of American military support remains to be seen, but last week, a U.S Navy destroyer shot down three missiles launched by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen that may have been fired at sites inside Israel.

“We cannot say for certain what they were targeting, but they were launched from Yemen, heading north along the Red Sea, potentially toward targets in Israel,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force brigadier general Pat Ryder said.