Gen. Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), met with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Monday.
The three “discussed the coordination of defense activities and ways to expand the international coalition facing aggressive actions by Iran and its proxies,” said Gallant.
Gallant thanked Kurilla and the American defense establishment, led by Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, for standing with Israel and acting to strengthen its defensive capabilities.
The U.S. general’s visit was “a direct translation of U.S. support for Israel, into action. The relationship between Israel and the United States is unshakeable,” he said, according to his office.
Kurilla’s Middle East trip was previously planned, but its focus was shifted in light of the Islamic Republic’s pledge to retaliate for the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week. It will now center on building a multilateral defensive alliance similar to the one that fended off the vast majority of the more than 300 missiles and drones Iran fired at the Jewish state in mid-April.
Iran’s Lebanese terror proxy Hezbollah has also vowed revenge for the targeted killing of senior official Fuad Shukr in Beirut last week.
