Benny Gantz, an influential member of Israel’s war cabinet, will meet in Washington on Monday with top US officials to discuss efforts toward a temporary ceasefire in Gaza and increased humanitarian aid, a White House official said.
Gantz is to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris and separately with White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan, the official said Sunday, speaking on grounds of anonymity.
“The vice president’s meeting is part of our continued efforts to engage with a wide range of Israeli officials on the war in Gaza and planning for the day after,” the White House official said.
Another US official said that Gantz would also meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Gantz’s visit comes as the United States, Israel’s strongest military and diplomatic backer, seeks a new pause in the nearly five-month war between Israel and Hamas.
But the visit by centrist Gantz, a former military chief, appears to have caused some division in the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Mr. Gantz, your entry into government was intended to create unity at a time of emergency, not to be a Trojan horse,” said Doudi Amsellem, minister of regional cooperation, in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Gantz, a current minister without portfolio, has long been a rival of Netanyahu’s, and his centrist National Union party enjoys broad support at a time when the Israeli coalition government appears increasingly fragile.
The 64-year-old said Sunday on X that he had already met in Washington with the executive board of AIPAC, a powerful pro-Israel lobby group.
He said he conveyed his “profound appreciation” for the group’s work to strengthen the US-Israeli alliance and “combating distressing levels of antisemitism across America.”
The White House official said Harris would discuss with Gantz “the urgency of securing a hostage deal, which would allow for a temporary ceasefire, and the need to significantly expand and sustain aid flows into Gaza, given the dire humanitarian situation.”
With AFP
