Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday told US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff C.Q. Brown that both countries need to be ready to act to prevent a nuclear Iran.
Although this kind of statement is routine between the countries in recent years, it carried a potentially more serious meaning due to recent reports that Tehran has restarted testing nuclear detonation issues, with the current threat from Iran to attack Israel with ballistic missiles, and with all parties making big calculations about upcoming US presidential elections.
Gallant also said that “Iran’s aggressiveness is breaking records,” in the shadow of Iran’s threats to attack the Jewish state directly a second time after attacking with over 300 aerial threats this past April.
Brown and Gallant also discussed working together to return the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, defeating Hamas, and returning Israel’s northern residents to their homes by ensuring Hezbollah is distanced from the border.
Notably, new IDF Intelligence Chief Shlomi Binder took part in the meetings, having just been sworn into office last Wednesday.
Likewise, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi visited the northern border with Brown and committed to returning the Israeli residents there with greater security with the greatest haste possible.
Separately on Monday, the IDF and Hezbollah drastically reduced their level of fighting following their exchange on Sunday which had marked the most dangerous of fighting of the war between the sides.
Early Monday morning, the IDF said it shot down one drone in Israeli airspace east of the Sea of Galilee.
The IDF did not clarify who had fired the rocket, but in the past, such drones had been launched by Syrian or Iraqi militias affiliated with Iran or Hezbollah.
Besides that incident, at press time the IDF had not identified any direct attacks on the Israel by Hezbollah emanating from Lebanese territory.
Likewise, the IDF carried out very few attacks, though it still did carry out limited attacks on Hezbollah positions at Kfar Kilah and at Tir Charfa, as well as limited artillery attacks on aita al-shaab – all in southern Lebanon.
There was also an unconfirmed report that an Israeli air strike might have wounded, but not killed a Hamas official in a car near Sidon.
In contrast, Sunday saw over 100 IDF air force jets destroying thousands of Hezbollah rockets, with the Lebanese terror group launching a record 350 attacks on Israel, with that number being significantly less than hd been intended given the Israeli preemptive strike.
Fighting in Gaza
Meanwhile, in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, IDF troops of the 98th Division on Monday destroyed a rocket launcher which had been used to fire a long range rocket toward Rishon LeZion on Sunday night.
It has been rare for Hamas to manage to fire long range rockets beyond the Gaza border since January when the IDF had eliminated most of the Gaza terror groups’ rocket firing cells.
The IDF specified that the rocket was launched a mere 25 meters from a school in the area.
The military noted that secondary explosions were identified following the strike, indicating additional rockets were contained inside the launcher and potentially ready to fire.
Further, in the Khan Yunis area and in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Division 98 soldiers eliminated dozens of terrorists and seized weapons.
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