US Secretary of Defense to head to Middle East on Saturday

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will travel to the Middle East on Saturday to meet with some of his counterparts, including Israel’s defense minister.

"Secretary Austin will travel to the Middle East region on Dec. 16 to meet with leaders in Bahrain, Qatar and Israel," Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder told reporters, adding he is also expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

While meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Ryder said Austin will "underscore the US's enduring support for Israel's right to defend itself from terrorism and reinforce the importance of taking civilian safety into account during operations and the critical need to increase delivery of humanitarian assistance."

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown Jr. will join Austin in Israel for meetings with senior Israeli officials, he said, adding "this will be General Brown's first trip to the Middle East as chairman."

The US continues to expect that Israel will conduct its operations in accordance with the law of armed conflict, Ryder stressed.

He said the US has seen Israel "taking steps" in terms of notifying civilians about pending operations and about taking civilians into account in its operations.

"But at the end of the day, again, we understand the tragic nature of any civilian deaths in Gaza, which is why we will continue to highlight the importance of taking that into account in operations and we will also highlight the importance of continuing to ensure a steady flow of humanitarian assistance into the Gaza area," he added.

Asked about Israel's use of "dumb bombs" in the Gaza Strip, Ryder said: "I don't have information on Israeli operations, nor the rate by which they're using munitions and particular types of munitions."

He said the US does not want state or non-state actors to exploit the situation to cause a broader regional conflict where it goes beyond Gaza.

Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 18,787 Palestinians have since been killed and 50,897 injured in the Israeli onslaught, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stands at 1,200, while 135 hostages are still being held by the Palestinian group in Gaza, according to official figures.