Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held a joint press conference in Tel Aviv. “US support for Israel is unwavering and Israel is not alone,” Austin said. Gallant, on the other hand, said that they could “gradually move to the next phase and begin working to bring back the local population from Gaza, possibly starting in the north first.”
Austin, who visited Israel with US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Brown on his first visit to the Middle East as President and attended a meeting with the Israeli government’s War Cabinet, held a joint press conference with Gallant after their meeting in Tel Aviv.
“U.S. support for Israel is unwavering and Israel is not alone,” Austin said.
“Protecting civilians in Gaza is both a moral duty and a strategic imperative,” Austin said, noting that Gaza is a “densely populated and complex battlefield” that “makes it very difficult to conduct any military operation.”
Austin said Hamas was using civilians as human shields, adding, “That adds to the complexity. It requires a very professional force, and that force has to learn every step of the way.”
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Noting that he and Gallant discussed today the Israeli military’s “changing techniques” in its offensive in southern Gaza, the US Secretary said, “We are all learning. They have learned lessons from the north and applied some of those lessons in the south, and I’m sure that will continue.”
Austin did not comment on what lessons Israel has learned, and did not clarify whether he meant the Israeli military’s targeting of Gazan civilians.
Gallant said Israel “shaped the war plan”
“We share everything with each other,” Gallant said, adding that Israel and the United States are having “transparent and frank discussions” about the course of the war.
Claiming that the Israeli army had achieved “meaningful” successes in Gaza, Gallant said, “But eliminating the Hamas leadership is still an ongoing goal. We hope it will happen soon, but it will be achieved.”
Regarding when the war in Gaza will end, Gallant said that “Israel is shaping the battle plan” to achieve its objectives in Gaza, adding that “there is no countdown and we don’t have to adhere to a specific day.”
Gallant said that the Israeli army “will continue to conduct military activity at different levels of intensity depending on the situation in the area,” adding that “they may gradually move to the next phase and begin working to bring back the local population from Gaza, possibly starting first in the north.”
