U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Charles Q. Brown met with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi on Monday, a day after Israel’s preemptive strike on Lebanon.
Brown is in the region to shore up U.S. alliances in anticipation of possible attacks by Iran against Israel.
In a statement, Israel’s Ministry of Defense said:
Today (Monday, 26 August 2024), Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant held a discussion on strategic issues within the framework of the official visit conducted by U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles Brown.
Minister Gallant discussed the ‘strategic junction’ that Israel currently faces, as it continues to pursue the goals of this war: dismantling the Hamas terrorist organization, ensuring the return of hostages held by Hamas, and changing the security situation along Israel’s northern border so that the region’s communities may safely return to their homes.
In discussing Iran, Minister Gallant highlighted an all-time high in aggressive activities as well as Iran’s ongoing pursuit of nuclear capabilities. In this regard, Minister Gallant emphasized that Israel and the United States must be prepared at any time to fulfill their joint commitment to prevent Iran from gaining military nuclear weapons.
Minister Gallant expressed his appreciation to General Brown for his leadership, his firm stance by Israel’s side and his unequivocal commitment to Israel’s security expressed both in the deployment of U.S. forces to the Middle East and in public support of Israel’s right to self-defense.
The visit was planned before Israel’s preemptive strike against Hezbollah, which succeeded in thwarting most of the rocket attack that Hezbollah had planned for Sunday morning, including against the city of Tel Aviv.
The U.S. is warning Iran not to attack Israel — at least in a significant way — in retaliation for the death of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month. Israel killed Hezbollah second-in-command Fuad Shukr in Lebanon as well.
The Biden administration has also tried to rein in Israeli responses to Iran and its terrorist proxies.
Separately, the U.S. is still attempting to broker a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas — thus far without success. Israel has accepted the American terms for an agreement; Hamas continues to reject them.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
