US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to thank Israel for its role in rescuing the two US Air Force crewmembers whose plane had been shot down in Iran, the ambassador said in an X/Twitter post on Monday.
"US SF carried out brilliant op," Huckabee said, adding "IDF & Mossad were helpful partners in the mission."
In a previous post, Huckabee described the rescue as "An Easter miracle!"
"Today I celebrate the USA military for their courage, meticulous training, & precision execution of rescue operation that brought EVERY American home safely," he wrote.
Unprecedented cooperation between Israel, US in rescue operation
New details emerged in the last few days regarding the unprecedented level of cooperation between the IDF and the United States military during a high-stakes rescue operation to retrieve the American pilots after their F-15 crashed in Iranian territory last Friday.
The 48-hour mission, which a senior US official described as “the boldest and most courageous rescue operation in history,” relied also on Israeli intelligence and tactical support to ensure the pilots were extracted before they could be captured by Iranian forces.
According to sources who spoke with The Jerusalem Post, the IDF, acting in cooperation with US forces, launched a series of strikes against Iranian targets. These strikes were strategically designed to act as a diversion, drawing Iranian security forces away from the crash site and toward other areas.