Israel’s Gallant meets with U.S. officials; Netanyahu axes delegation to U.S. over U.N. vote

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Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon. This meeting comes amid a diplomatic rift between the U.S. and Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly canceling a visit by another high-level delegation to the United States after the U.S. abstained from voting on a cease-fire resolution before the U.N. Security Council. Austin emphasized that the U.S. is working to make Israel and the region safer and called for the protection of Palestinian civilians. The second Israeli delegation to Washington, requested by President Biden, was set to hear U.S. concerns about Israel's plans for an operation in Rafah, southern Gaza. Israel and Hamas blamed each other for the lack of progress in cease-fire talks in Qatar. The U.S. abstention in the U.N. Security Council vote did not signal a change in policy from the Biden administration. At least 32,414 people have been killed and 74,787 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas's Oct. 7 attack and says soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/26/israel-hamas-war-news-gaza-palestine/