News: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visits Israel to assess situation
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is visiting Israel on Monday to obtain a more precise assessment of military operations carried out by Israeli authorities. The visit marks the latest intervention by a US administration official in the country, amid growing tensions between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over growing civilian casualties in Gaza.
Joe Biden is under pressure, both domestically and internationally, to urge Netanyahu to end the massive bombing of Gaza, which has sparked global outrage and calls for a lasting ceasefire.
CNN revealed earlier this month that US officials expected Israel to adopt a lower-intensity, hyper-localized strategy by January, targeting only Hamas militants and leaders. A senior defense official said Sunday that Israel’s security apparatus is assessing the conditions needed to move to the next phase of the conflict “on an hourly, if not daily, basis,” and that Austin wants to hear “a very clear assessment from them ” this Monday.
Austin will be briefed on how the Israel Defense Forces, the War Cabinet and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are assessing the current phase of the Gaza campaign, while getting an idea of the criteria they are using to move forward. the next phase, according to the official.
Gen. CQ Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will also be in Israel, accompanying Austin for “meetings with senior Israeli officials,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said. last week.
Austin’s conversations will focus on “assessing the campaign to date, the specific operational milestones that need to be achieved,” the defense official said, adding that “we would expect any partner to plan the continuation of operations.
Austin’s visit follows National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s visit to Tel Aviv, and comes just days after Biden’s outspoken statements calling on Israel to do more to protect civilians in Gaza.
Sullivan said Friday that Israel would move to another phase of the war “that will focus more narrowly” on targeting Hamas leaders. In response to a question from CNN’s Alex Marquardt, Sullivan said Israel is “trying to distinguish” between targets that would result in civilian deaths and targets that hit Hamas.
“What we have always said is that Israel intends to make sure that it makes that distinction clearly in a lasting way,” Sullivan said. “And we want the results to be consistent with that.”
The Palestinian Health Ministry, which bases its figures on data received from Hamas-controlled Gaza hospitals, said in a statement Sunday that nearly 18,800 Palestinians have died in Gaza since October 7, 70 percent of them deaths. women and children – figures that CNN cannot independently verify.
Before Austin’s visit, Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Sunday that the U.S. message to reduce civilian casualties was not “coming across clearly enough” in Israel.
“We have unacceptable levels of civilian casualties. We see a very loose discipline of engagement, much looser than what the United States would exercise,” the Maryland Democrat said on ABC’s “This Week.” .
On the other side of the spectrum, Chris Christie, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Israel should “calm things down within its military if it can.” ” following the accidental death of three Israelis taken hostage in Gaza. But the former New Jersey governor, who is trailing in primary polls, argued that the administration’s public criticism of Israel “gives arms and comfort to Hamas.”
While the top defense official said Austin would convey the message that U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself is unwavering, Biden has been increasingly direct in his public remarks, saying Israel must do more to limit harm to civilians.
Last week, Biden told Democratic donors in Washington that while Israel “enjoys the support of most of the world,” it is “starting to lose that support because of the indiscriminate bombing that is taking place.” And on Thursday, Biden said he didn’t want Israel to “stop attacking Hamas” but to be “more careful” and “focus on saving civilian lives.”
During his visit to Israel on Monday, Austin will have “very specific points” that he wants to “dwell on” with the Israelis, including how they plan to increase access to humanitarian aid and the measures that ‘they take to “mitigate harm to civilians”.
Yet officials told CNN last week that despite growing calls for Israel to do more to protect civilians, the Biden administration has no plans to condition its military aid to that country. And the top defense official said Sunday that Austin’s commitment to Israel has not wavered.
“He wants to ensure that Israelis have the support and assistance they need to defend themselves and their citizens at home,” the official said.