U.S. Defense Secretary to travel to Israel on Friday

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will visit Israel on Friday, a senior defense official told CBS News on Thursday afternoon.

Austin will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Israel’s newly formed war cabinet. The defense official told CBS News that Austin and other officials will discuss Israeli objectives for the conflict with Hamas and the country’s security assistance needs.

The defense official also told CBS News that the Department of Defense is providing the Israel Defense Forces with advice on hostage recovery efforts. The official also said that the Department of Defense expects there to be a continuous delivery of security assistance to Israel from the United States.

Source » cbsnews.com