Menahem Kahana/Pool/AFP via Getty
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Israel this week and urge Israeli officials to shift their focus away from their ground and air assault in Gaza, officials told The New York Times, as multiple countries press the wartorn nation to agree to a ceasefire.
Austin will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during his trip, seeking out steps Israel could take to reel back its assault and transition to targeted campaigns against Hamas leaders.
The meeting comes after the French foreign ministry said a ministry worker died in Rafah on Saturday after a Wednesday attack by Israeli forces on a residential building.