Lloyd Austin
Jerusalem still hopes to free the captives through diplomatic means, the defense minister said.
“They discussed the threats to Israel posed by a range of Iranian-backed terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hizballah.”
The top American diplomat stressed the importance of achieving a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
In its readout of the conversation, the Israeli Defense Ministry made no mention of diplomatic negotiations with the Lebanese terrorist army.
The Pentagon chief confirmed to his Israeli counterpart that the Gaza pier will cease operations.
Israel’s foreign minister met with his American counterpart Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“The United States will always ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself,” the U.S. defense secretary said.
“As we have assessed the situation, we have paused one shipment of high payload munitions,” the U.S. defense secretary said.
“The State of Israel will not tolerate the ongoing presence of terrorist frameworks bordering its communities,” said Israeli Defense Minister Gallant.
The Israeli defense minister emphasized the importance of a “joint regional effort to counter Iran’s proxy attacks and nuclear ambitions.”
Lloyd Austin also reiterated “steadfast” U.S. support for Israel’s defense.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hailed the “unparalleled cooperation and coordination” between the two militaries in defending against Iran’s April 14 attack.
