A top U.S. general visited Israel to assess the country’s defense needs and reiterate the Defense Department’s “ironclad support,” just a day before President Joe Biden is set to visit the Jewish state.
Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, Commander, U.S. Central Command, arrived Tuesday morning in Tel Aviv, Israel, to conduct “high-level meetings” with the leadership of the Israeli military, according to an Oct. 16 press release by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). He will meet with Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, chief of defense of the Israeli forces. During the visit, Gen. Kurilla will seek to get a “clear understanding of Israel’s defense requirements, outline U.S. support efforts to avoid expansion of the conflict, and reiterate the Department of Defense’s ironclad support for Israel.”
“I’m here to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself, and am particularly focused on avoiding other parties expanding the conflict,” said Gen. Kurilla.
Following Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7 that killed more than 1,400 Israelis, CENTOM reiterated its support of Israel.
The general’s trip comes ahead of President Biden’s visit to Israel scheduled for Wednesday. On Monday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that once President Biden arrives in Israel, he will be briefed on Israel’s strategy, the status of hostages, and the pace of its military operations.
President Biden will reaffirm Israel’s “right to defend itself and go after Hamas terrorists,” talk about the hostage situation, and discuss what Israeli officials “believe they need to continue to defend their people,” he said. The president will also raise the issue of humanitarian assistance to Gazans “in a way that does not benefit Hamas, but actually benefits the people of Gaza.”
“In particular, American citizens, who we know there are several hundred that have not been able to leave Gaza. So he'll be talking to them about that,” Mr. Kirby said.
Currently, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Tel Aviv. On Monday, Mr. Blinken was forced to take shelter in a bunker alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for five minutes amid a missile attack by Hamas.
US Military Activities
On Sunday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to remain in the eastern portion of the Mediterranean Sea, closer to the Israeli coast.
The strike group consists of the USS Gerald R. Ford Navy aircraft carrier, a guided missile cruiser, guided missile destroyers, and a wide range of fighter jets.
Munitions and other critical equipment are being sent to Israel to aid the military in its war against Hamas. Some munitions for Israel’s Iron Dome system have already been delivered as these were stored in Israel, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan recently said.
On Oct. 12, Mr. Kirby ruled out the possibility of American troops becoming involved in the conflict in Israel. “There is no intention, no plan, and frankly, no desire by the Israelis for U.S. combat troops to be involved in this conflict,” he said during a White House news conference.
“Israel doesn’t need US troops, they need us to pressure Qatar and Iran economically and diplomatically and to hold together the Abraham Accords,” Joe Kent, a GOP-endorsed 2024 congressional candidate, said in an Oct. 17 post on X.
Israel’s Ground Invasion of Gaza
Meanwhile, Israel is preparing for a ground invasion of Gaza. The imminent incursion has already triggered a war of words globally.On Monday, Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said that “leaders of the Resistance will not allow the Zionist regime to take any action in Gaza ... All options are open and we cannot be indifferent to the war crimes committed against the people of Gaza.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Iran to stay out of the matter. “I expressly warn Hezbollah and Iran not to intervene in this conflict,” he said on Tuesday during a joint press conference with Jordanian King Abdullah II bin al Hussein.
“The Palestinians are not Hamas and Hamas has no right to speak for them. The Palestinian people in Gaza, they are also victims of Hamas.”
According to a Monday update by Israel Defense Forces (IDF), they have called for the population of Gaza to evacuate towards the south.
However, “Hamas is preventing Gazans from evacuating, and is hiding behind the local population, embedding itself in residential neighborhoods and jeopardizing the lives of the Gazan population.”
So far, 600,000 Gazans have been evacuated. On Monday, the IDF struck around 250 military targets, mostly in Northern Gaza. In one of the strikes, the IDF neutralized the Commander of the Hamas Southern District of National Security.
199 Israelis have been abducted and are being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas. The terror outfit has released a hostage video with a 21-year-old woman saying that she was being treated normally.
However, Mr. Kirby said on Tuesday that the woman was likely forced into it. “There’s no question in my mind that that woman gave that video testimony under duress, probably forced to do it,” he told NBC on Tuesday.
So far, over 4,100 individuals have been killed in the conflict, including the 1,400 Israelis massacred by Hamas. The Gaza Health Ministry claims 2,750 Palestinians have died since Israel began its retaliatory strikes.
