Lloyd Austin
The minister thanked the American for “standing with Israel.”
Washington and its allies believe a major attack on Israel by Iran has become a matter of when, not if.
Senior U.S. officials believe that political considerations are at play in the pronouncement.
“We don’t have evidence of that to my knowledge,” the secretary of defense testified before Congress.
The defense chiefs also discussed “ongoing threats posed by Iranian aggression...[and] scenarios involving regional escalation.”
The U.S. Secretary of Defense said the tragic incident “reinforced the expressed concern over a potential Israeli military operation in Rafah,” and called for a swift investigation with full accountability.
The Secret Service has started an investigation into one of the incidents.
Senior U.S. officials have said both that Israel needs a plan to protect civilians before going into Rafah and that such protection is impossible.
The U.S. defense secretary told a House committee that Israel had killed more than 25,000 Palestinian women and children.
The Florida senator wrote to the defense secretary after a Dutch court decision threatened to halt delivery of U.S.-owned F-35 parts to Israel.
Gallant discusses Gaza war effort with U.S. counterpart.
Kathleen Hicks, the U.S. deputy secretary of defense, took over Lloyd Austin’s responsibilities while he is being treated for a bladder issue.
