During a meeting on Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown that “Iran’s aggression has reached an all-time high” as the U.S. works to broker a cease-fire deal with Hamas after nearly 11 months of war.
“To counter this, we must work together to achieve and project groundbreaking capabilities in all arenas,” Gallant said according to a readout of the meeting from Tel Aviv, which was also attended by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi.
Gallant emphasized the “strategic junction” that Israel faces with threats from Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north — both of which are heavily supported by Iran.
Despite U.S. efforts to secure a cease-fire deal in collaboration with Egypt and Qatar, Hamas has not agreed to any terms as long as Israeli forces remain in Gaza.
Details of the cease-fire talks remain unclear, but on Monday Gallant aimed to remind Brown of Israel’s primary objectives in its war in Gaza, including dismantling Hamas, ensuring the return of hostages following the Oct. 7 attacks, and “changing the security situation along Israel’s northern border so that the region’s communities may safely return to their homes.”
Since Oct. 7, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza claims that approximately 40,000 Palestinians have been killed — though it doesn’t distinguish between civilians and terrorists killed. Nearly another 700 Israeli soldiers and roughly 1,200 Israeli civilians have also been killed since the Hamas attack.
But despite the ongoing conflict in Gaza, some security officials argue that the biggest threat Jerusalem faces is in the north, where it regularly exchanges missile and drone fire with Hezbollah.
The meeting between Brown and Gallant occurred a day after the world watched with concern as an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah — and by extension Iran — seemed to have begun following threats from Tehran last month.
On Sunday, Hezbollah declared that it launched hundreds of rockets and drones at northern Israeli military positions. Jerusalem responded by launching 100 warplanes in a series of preemptive strikes on Hezbollah strongholds where thousands of rocket launchers were reportedly positioned. The IDF stated that no Israeli military installations were hit during the Hezbollah attack.
The exchange appears to have resulted in three deaths in Lebanon, and one Israeli soldier was killed, although the assault was over by mid-morning Sunday.
Reports on Monday suggested that the long-awaited attack by Iran and Hezbollah, which resulted in a relatively limited number of casualties, may have de-escalated tensions in the Middle East.
But comments made by Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, on Monday indicated that the threat posed by Iran has not diminished.
“What we witnessed yesterday is only part of that revenge,” he said, according to state media. “Revenge against the Israeli entity is inevitable.”
The exchange of fire on Sunday appears not to have affected any progress in the ceasefire talks with Hamas, according to White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby on Monday.
“There continues to be progress. Our team on the ground continues to describe the talks as constructive,” he told reporters. “Despite the rocket and drone attack by Hezbollah over the course of the weekend, which Israel did a terrific job defending against, it has not affected the actual work on the ground by the teams trying to get the ceasefire deal in place.”
Kirby said there remains a sense of “urgency” in trying to secure a ceasefire.