Israeli Defense Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz met Thursday morning in Washington DC with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
In a joint briefing led by Blinken, the Secretary noted that he and Gantz had met in Israel “just a week or so ago,” and that the current talks “pursue that conversation.
Blinken said the agenda for their meeting included “the United States’ enduring commitment to Israel security. . . some of the needs that Israel has in that regard; also to talk about the work that needs to be done to move forward on humanitarian assistance to, and reconstruction for, Gaza and for the Palestinians living there,” among other issues.
Gantz told reporters he was “looking forward to discuss, as we have discussed before, the challenges that we have with Iran, with the Palestinians.
“As far as Gaza concerned, we do look for stability and prosperity for everybody. And as defense minister, I think the combination between moving forward with construction and making sure that everything stays secure – it’s very important for me.”
Israel to Request $1B from US This Week to Replenish Iron Dome Interceptors
It’s believed that Gantz is asking the Biden administration for $1 billion to purchase more Tamir interceptor missile batteries for the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system, which was developed in a collaboration between Israel and the United States.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during his own meeting at the Pentagon with Gantz, “The president has expressed his full support for replenishing Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, which saved so many innocent lives during the most recent conflict,” according to Fox News.
President Joe Biden had already announced last month on the heels of Israel’s decision to accept an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire deal that Washington will replenish the Iron Dome systems after they were depleted during the recent conflict.
“The Prime Minister [of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu]… shared with me his appreciation for the Iron Dome system, which our nations developed together and which has saved lives of countless Israeli citizens, both Arabs and Jews,” the president said at that time in a statement.
“I assured him of my full support to replenish Israel’s Iron Dome system to ensure its defenses and security in the future,” Biden added.
The Iron Dome intercepted and eliminated 90 percent of the 4,300 rockets fired by Hamas in Gaza at southern Israeli population centers during Israel’s recent Operation Guardian of the Walls mini-war against the Iranian-backed terror group.
More than 600 of the rockets fired by Iranian-backed Hamas misfired and instead exploded in their own backyard, in Gaza. It’s not clear how many Gazan women and children were injured and killed as a result of misfired rockets by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.