Israeli defense minister says meetings in US led to ‘significant progress’ on arms supply

By Mohammad Sio

ISTANBUL (AA) - Wrapping up his US visit, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday that his meetings with top officials in Washington led to “considerable progress” in resolving issues around weapons shipments to Israel.

"Today I complete a very important visit to the United States, as the official representative of the State of Israel and Israel’s Defense Establishment,” Gallant said in a video message after his meetings with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

“We made significant progress, obstacles were removed and bottlenecks were addressed, in order to advance a variety of issues, and more specifically the topic of force build-up and munition supply that we must bring to the state of Israel,” he revealed.

He also expressed gratitude for the US. “I would like to thank the US administration and the American public for their enduring support for the state of Israel.”

Gallant arrived in Washington on Sunday and met senior US officials and discussed American military aid.

Israeli officials have expressed frustration over delayed American arms shipments, and urged the need for weapons to deal with the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.

The US remains Israel’s ally and biggest supplier of arms, but has voiced concern over the increasing civilian casualties in Gaza, where the death toll nears 38,000 since last October.