US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant met Monday and discussed the Israeli military’s withdrawal from portions of Gaza, according to a statement by the US Department of Defense.
Gallant provided details of the IDF’s withdrawal, as well as the future of Israel’s campaign against Hamas.
Austin expressed “the urgent need to dramatically increase humanitarian assistance delivery,” according to the statement.
Austin and Gallant also discussed Israel’s killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers on April 1.
All but one were foreign nationals, sparking calls for accountability among those countries, including the US. Israel said the killings were a mistake, fired two senior officers and reprimanded a top commander over the incident.
Israel’s Defense Ministry said “the Minister and Secretary raised ongoing threats posed by Iranian aggression, including via Iranian proxy Hezbollah. They discussed coordination in the face of scenarios involving regional escalation.”
Some context: The US and its allies have been bracing for a possible attack against Israeli and US assets in the region in retaliation for a deadly Israeli strike last week on Iran’s consulate in Damascus.
