- Republicans criticized “gross incompetence” by the White House
- The image was on the White House Instagram page for hours
- The White House eventually deleted it and apologized
The White House was forced to delete a photo of President Joe Biden meeting with US special forces in Israel – which showed their faces and could have revealed their identities.
It was already known that a small group of US special forces in Israel was discussing how to possibly rescue scores of hostages, including Americans, held by the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.
The image of Biden shaking their hands during his visit to Israel on Wednesday was posted for hours on the official White House Instagram page and received thousands of likes and comments.
It appeared to violate Defense Department rules because it showed the men’s faces, which are usually blurred in officially released photos.
The White House was forced to DELETE a photo of Biden meeting with US special forces in Israel without blurring their faces. has blurred them out
Joe Biden meets first responders in Israel, where he was also pictured with US special forces
The Pentagon’s everyday practice is to conceal the identities of elite units, whether in training or in action.
The unshaven men with beards wore camouflage clothing and had American flags on their arms as they shook Biden’s hand.
This came during an event where the president met with Israeli medics who responded to the October 7 Hamas attack that killed hundreds of Jewish men, women and children.
The now-deleted White House Instagram post said: “In Israel, President Biden met with first responders to thank them for their courage and the work they are doing in response to Hamas terrorist attacks.”
The White House ultimately apologized for the mistake of showing the faces of the special forces and removed the photo.
“As soon as it was brought to our attention, we immediately deleted the photo,” a White House spokesperson told .
“We regret the error and any problems it may have caused.”
Republicans criticized the mistake, with Republican Rep. Diana Harshbarger calling it “gross incompetence.”
The White House apologizes for blatant national security blunder after releasing a photo showing faces of US special forces as they met Joe Biden in Israel