Defense Minister Yoav Gallant traveled to the United States last night to meet with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and discuss “development in Gaza and Lebanon,” according to a ministry statement issued this morning.
Before boarding the plane, the Defense Minister assured that the country is “prepared for any required action in Gaza, Lebanon, and additional areas.”
“The transition to ‘Phase C’ in Gaza is of great importance,” added Gallant, referring to the last step for Israel in the face of the war in the Strip, focused on creating a new security regime there that also safeguards the Israeli population.
The minister arrives in the United States just a few days after the clash between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Washington, describing it as “inconceivable” that the North American country had withheld the shipment of certain weapons and ammunition to Israel.
“From day one we have tried to pressure Israel to do everything possible to avoid civilian casualties. (…) Without trying to justify any type of air attack, it is extremely difficult,” Blinken said then.
Last Thursday, Netanyahu said on his profile on the social network X that he was “willing to suffer personal attacks as long as Israel receives the ammunition it needs from the United States.”
The United States Government stopped sending 3,500 bombs to Israel in early May, concerned about their possible use against Islamic terrorist organizations in densely populated areas such as Rafah, the southernmost area of Gaza. According to CNN, that package contained 1,800 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds (907 kilos) and 1,700 bombs weighing 500 pounds (226 kilos).
Furthermore, Gallant’s visit to the Pentagon, headquarters of the American Defense, occurs in a round of contacts between Israel and the United States preceded by the recent tours in the region of the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, first and that of the mediator Amos Hochstein , which took place last week.
All of these meetings have occurred hand in hand not only with the prolongation of the conflict in Gaza but also with the escalation of violence on the northern border, with Lebanon, where the exchange of fire between Israel and the Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah is increasingly more intense and raises fears of an open war with regional implications. EFE and Aurora
