The outgoing Commander-in-Chief of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) General Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, will travel to the United States tonight to meet with the military leadership of this allied country, as doubts grow over the future of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
During his trip, which will last from February 17 to 20, Halevi will hold meetings with US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Charles Brown, Central Command chief Gen. Michael Kurilla and other senior military officials “to discuss key strategic and operational issues,” the IDF said in a statement.
In his absence, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, General Amir Baram, will serve as head of the armed forces.
Halevi, who announced his resignation in mid-January and will leave office on March 6, will also use the trip to thank the US for its military cooperation during the war against the Islamic terrorist group Hamas in Gaza and “explore ways to further boost this cooperation,” according to the statement.
The announcement comes after a shipment of US bombs weighing almost a ton each arrived in Israel this morning, after the government of former President Joe Biden had frozen them for fear they would be used in Gaza.
Trump yesterday gave his support to the Jerusalem government to do what it deems appropriate with the ceasefire agreement in progress in the Gaza Strip, days after having given an ultimatum to Hamas to release all the hostages before Saturday; without specifying whether he was referring to the 9 remaining from the first phase or to the more than 70.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he plans to convene his Security Cabinet “as soon as possible” to decide on the next steps for a ceasefire, even though negotiations for the second phase have yet to begin two weeks after the scheduled date for doing so.
Agencies contributed to this Aurora article