US military leaders head to Israel and will offer advice on shifting to the war’s next phase in Gaza

WASHINGTON– The two top American military leaders will travel to Tel Aviv to advise the Israeli government on how to shift from major combat operations against Hamas in Gaza to a more limited and precise campaign, the type of strategic shift in which both have considerable experience.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown played leadership roles as U.S. air power and ground forces transitioned from major combat operations to lower-intensity counterterrorism operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. But it is unclear to what extent his lessons-learned advice will resonate with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Israel is still smarting from the deadliest attack ever carried out on its own front and has vowed to continue its bombardment of Gaza until Hamas, which orchestrated the October 7 attacks, is completely destroyed.

His trip highlights the Biden administration’s increased efforts to convince Israel that it should scale back its offensive, which has leveled much of the northern Gaza region, displaced millions and killed more than 18,700 Palestinians, according to the Ministry of Health in the territory controlled by Hamas. .

Israel’s advance has been complicated by Hamas’ dense urban population and tunnel network, and militants are accused of using civilians as “human shields.” The sustained intensity of Israel’s campaign has led President Joe Biden to warn that the US ally is losing international support due to its “indiscriminate bombings.”

US officials have been telling Israel for several weeks that its window is closing to conclude major combat operations in Gaza without risking losing even more support.

In a meeting Thursday, Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, urged Netanyahu to move to more targeted operations using smaller military teams that go after specific high-value targets, rather than the broad, sustained bombings that have occurred. until now. In response, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said his country would continue major combat operations against Hamas for several more months.

There are implications for the tens of thousands of US military personnel deployed to the region.

Austin on Friday once again expanded the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and a second warship to maintain a two-carrier presence in the Mediterranean Sea. The ships are seen as vital to deter Iran from expanding the war between Israel and Hamas into a regional conflict. The approximately 5,000 sailors aboard the Ford were due to return home in early November.

U.S. warships deployed with the Ford have intercepted missiles launched toward Israel from areas of Yemen controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. They also shot down one-way attack drones heading toward ships and responded to calls for assistance from commercial vessels that have been the target of persistent Houthi attacks near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

As of Friday, there are 19 US warships in the region, including seven in the eastern Mediterranean. A dozen more stretched across the Red Sea, across the Arabian Sea and into the Persian Gulf.

On Saturday, one of the warships assigned to the Ford carrier strike group, the destroyer USS Carney, “successfully engaged” 14 one-way attack drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the Central Command said. United States in a statement. Britain reported that a Royal Navy destroyer shot down another drone targeting commercial ships.

The missile and drone attacks have led at least two major shipping companies, Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk, to order their commercial vessels to temporarily suspend transits through the strait.

“Recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait are alarming and pose a significant security threat.” & lives of seafarers,” Maersk said in a statement posted on its official account on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday. “This problem cannot be addressed by the global shipping industry alone, and we urge international society to come together to find a quick solution that puts the situation under control.”

Austin is also expected to visit Bahrain and Qatar and continue working to establish a new maritime mission to provide greater security for commercial ships sailing in the southern Red Sea. Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy Central Command headquarters and the international maritime task force charged with ensuring the safe passage of ships in the region.

Qatar has been vital in helping prevent what has been a deadly localized war from turning into a regional conflict and negotiating the release of hostages.

Early in his military career, Austin oversaw the drawdown of forces in Iraq in 2011. He visited Israel days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and has spoken with Gallant, his Israeli counterpart, more than two dozen times since then.

At their meetings in Israel, they are likely to continue discussions about how the Israelis define different milestones of the military campaign, so they can assess when they will have degraded Hamas enough to ensure their own security and abandon major combat operations, he said. a senior US defense official. he told reporters traveling with Austin.