The head of the US Central Command General Michael Kurilla has arrived in Israel to understand what the Israeli military needs.
CENTCOM General Kurilla is to meet with Israeli defence officials “to ensure Israel has what it needs” with the war against Hamas and the threat from the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah and Iran.
On Tuesday US officials put 2,000 troops on standby to be “ready to deploy” to the Middle East should they be needed inside Israel.
Iran has issued a warning that they will take “pre-emptive action” against Israel in the “coming hours” which comes as the Israeli military are preparing for a full scale ground offensive inside Gaza.
Read more on Israel-Hamas war:
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US can’t rule out ‘Iran will get directly engaged’ and are preparing ‘for every possible contingency’
The ‘stakes are exceptionally high’ as Iran warns Israel against any Palestinian escalation
US put 2,000 troops on standby as Iran vows ‘pre-emptive action’ within ‘hours’ against Israel
Gen Kurilla is to meet with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and others.
The aim of the meeting is “to gain a clear understanding of Israel’s defense requirements, outline US 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,” General Kurilla said.
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (CSG) are heading to the Eastern Mediterranean, which has F-15s, F-16s fighter jets and A-10s to aid the fighter squadrons, should they be needed.
General Kurilla said: “The arrival of these highly capable forces to the region is a strong signal of deterrence should any actor hostile to Israel consider trying to take advantage of this situation.”
A White House official said, “This morning, President Biden and Vice President Harris were briefed by their national security team on the latest updates in the wake of Hamas’s abhorrent attack in Israel and the resulting conflict in Gaza.
“Chief of Staff Jeff Zients joined the briefing led by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Bill Burns.”
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