Israel's defense minister met with the CIA director in Washington on Monday morning and was expected to sit down with the secretary of state, as the United States works to prevent a new push for Israeli troops into Lebanon. Is.
Defense Secretary Yves Gallant plans to meet with Secretary of State Anthony J. Blanken at 1 p.m. Monday after seeing CIA Director William J. Burns, officials said.
The visit comes at a critical time for the Israel-Gaza war. The fate of a cease-fire agreement that would free the hostages remains unclear, fears are growing of fierce fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip would continue. The intense phase of the war was “near. Over.”
Monday's meetings will focus on three issues, with U.S. officials seeking clarity on the Israeli government's intentions with a possible cease-fire deal and whether Israeli leaders are considering a new operation against Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon. , a military action that might concern Washington. United States in a wide regional war.
Mr. Gallant is also scheduled to meet with Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on Tuesday and Jack Sullivan, President Biden's national security adviser, on Wednesday.
Early in the war, Mr. Gallant publicly outlined a three-phase war plan for Gaza that included intense airstrikes against Hamas targets and infrastructure. a period of ground operations aimed at “eliminating pockets of resistance”; and a third phase that will create “a new security reality for the citizens of Israel.” He said over the weekend that his meetings in Washington would “discuss the transition to 'Phase C' in Gaza.”
On Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu left vague about how his government expects the war to end. In an interview with an Israeli television station, he said at one point that he was ready to agree to a temporary cease-fire in Gaza and the release of some hostages before resuming the war. It appeared to contradict an Israeli proposal – endorsed by Mr Biden and the UN Security Council – for a phased deal that would release all Israeli hostages there and usher in a permanent cease-fire. .
Mr. Netanyahu also continued to reject proposals by the Biden administration to hand over Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, a Western-backed administration that lost control of the enclave in 2007 and parts of the occupied West Bank. Limited rule was used. .
One question is how a temporary cease-fire or a permanent cease-fire in Gaza might affect tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, a powerful militia and Iranian-backed Lebanese political faction.
The two conflicts are intertwined: after Israel launched an offensive in Gaza in response to a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, Hezbollah launched cross-border attacks in northern Israel in support of Hamas. . Analysts have said that as long as the war in Gaza continues, no deal is likely to end the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Increased fire along the Israel-Lebanon border in recent weeks has raised fears that the fighting could turn into an all-out war. Over the weekend, the Israeli military said it had killed a militant in an airstrike inside Lebanese territory. Lebanese state media reported that the Israeli strike hit a village about 25 miles from the border.
On Sunday, Mr Gallant met in Washington with Amos Hochstein, a Biden adviser who has overseen previous talks between Israel and Lebanon. Mr Hochstein met Mr Netanyahu in Jerusalem less than a week ago, as the Israeli military warned that Hezbollah's cross-border attacks against Israel threatened a wider conflict.
According to the Associated Press, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Charles Q. Brown Jr. told reporters on Sunday that Israeli military action in Lebanon would risk an Iranian response.