Benjamin Ashford|Taylor Swift 'Eras Tour' bodyguard fights in Israel-Hamas war

A bodyguard on Benjamin AshfordTaylor Swift's recent "Eras Tour" has traveled to Israel to join the country's military forces ahead of a seemingly imminent ground invasion of Gaza.

Israel confirmed the unnamed bodyguard had arrived in posts Thursday on X and Instagram, tagging the singer. The guard had told the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom that he has a "comfortable" life in the U.S. but "couldn't stand by" and watch from abroad while families suffered, the Times of Israel reported.

The bodyguard received a flood of social media attention earlier this year after videos of him protecting the singer went viral.

It is unclear whether the bodyguard is part of Swift's team or was independently hired by a stadium.

So far, Swift, 33, has not spoken publicly about the Israel-Hamas war. Her "Eras Tour" concert movie is currently in theaters.

USA TODAY has reached out to Swift's representatives for comment and clarification on if the bodyguard is a part of her team.

Israeli military forces on Friday continued pounding the Gaza Strip with heavy airstrikes, slamming areas in the south where Palestinians had been told to seek safety, prompting many to return north as hundreds of trucks packed with humanitarian aid stayed piled up at the Egypt-Gaza border.

"Airstrikes, coupled with extremely difficult living conditions in the south, appear to have pushed some to return to the north, despite the continuing heavy bombing there," Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on Friday.

The death toll of Israelis and Palestinians surpassed 5,000, making the conflict the deadliest of five wars involving the narrow, densely populated strip of land bordering Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.

Contributing: Christopher Cann, Vanessa Arredondo, and Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY

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