Israeli Defence Minister visits Washington as fears of Lebanon-Israel war rise

Yoav Gallant's trip comes as tensions soar between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the White House

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in October. Reuters

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Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant is due to arrive in Washington on Sunday to discuss the war in Gaza and the increasing risk of a direct confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Mr Gallant will meet Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top officials in Washington.

The discussions “are particularly important and impactful at this time,” Mr Gallant said as he departed Israel. “We are prepared for any action that may be required in Gaza, Lebanon, and in additional areas.”

Iran-backed Hezbollah began attacking Israel shortly after the Hamas-led attack of October 7 triggered a retaliatory war in the Gaza Strip.

In the months since, Israel and Hezbollah have conducted countless cross-border exchanges of fire, but both sides have ramped up rhetoric and the intensity of strikes in recent weeks, fuelling fears that war is imminent. Last week Hezbollah published drone footage of Israel's military base at Haifa.

Hezbollah has targeted Israeli towns and military sites, while Israel has struck deep into Lebanese territory, all while the Biden administration has tried in vain to forge a ceasefire in Gaza and a reduction in tension along the Israel-Lebanon border.

US envoy Amos Hochstein visited Israel and Lebanon last week in a bid to forestall a “greater war” in the Middle East.

Earlier on Sunday, Hezbollah claimed a drone attack on Beit Hillel, northern Israel, while Israeli air strikes hit Kafr Kila and Taybeh, two villages in southern Lebanon.

Mr Gallant's trip to Washington, which his office said came at Mr Austin's invitation, comes at a moment of tension between the Biden administration and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly said the US is slowing weapons shipments to its ally Israel, angering the White House.

Washington says it only ever paused one shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, over concerns they would be used in Rafah without sufficient regard to civilian life. Billions of dollars in weaponry, missile defence systems, bombs and other materiel has continued to flow into Israel otherwise.

Mr Netanyahu repeated the claim on Sunday, but suggested the issue might soon be resolved.

“In light of what I have heard over the past 24 hours, I hope and believe that this issue will be resolved in the near future,” Mr Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting.

Mr Netanyahu is set to deliver an address to Congress next month, a move that has angered the White House as President Joe Biden struggles to contain growing anger from Democrats over his handling of the war and almost unfettered support of Israel.

Mr Gallant is a member of Mr Netanyahu's Likud party but the two have had public disagreements in recent months, with the defence chief saying Israel needs to put forward a clear plan for postwar Gaza that will not leave Israel in charge, a demand echoed by the White House.

“The United States is our most important and central ally. Our ties are crucial and perhaps more important than ever, at this time,” Mr Gallant said before take-off.

Smoke plumes rise from a fire in a field after a drone launched from southern Lebanon landed near Moshav Dishon in the Upper Galilee in Israel near the Lebanese border on June 23, 2024. AFP