Pentagon to host bilateral meeting with Yoav Gallant next week

Defense Secretary Austin will host Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant for a bilateral meeting at the Pentagon next Tuesday, Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said Thursday. 

Austin and Gallant will discuss securing hostage releases, the need for more humanitarian aid to reach Gaza, and Israel's plans to invade Rafah. 

Austin and Gallant's meeting will be separate from the meeting in which a team of senior interagency Israeli officials will meet with the White House, as President Joe Biden discussed on a call earlier with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Singh said. 

Singh said Austin and Gallant's meeting was set up a few weeks ago. 

"Yesterday, Secretary Austin spoke with Minister of Defense Golan regarding the negotiations for the release of hostages and a temporary ceasefire. Secretary Austin also raised the need to consider alternatives to a major ground operation and Rafa while reiterating the shared goal of defeating Hamas," Singh said. "They also discuss the need to do more to protect civilians and urgently increase the flow of aid into Gaza through land crossings."

The meeting is another chance to discuss the urgent need for humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, which Singh said Austin presses Gallant on every phone call. 

Gaza pier

A vehicle cargo ship containing materials needed to construct the temporary humanitarian aid pier of Gaza departed from Newport News, Virginia today, the Pentagon said. 

The ship is transporting components for the "floating modular pier system," which will be delivered to the US Army's seventh transportation brigade, which will construct the pier in the Mediterranean. The Pentagon indicated the pier is still on track to be built by mid-April. 

The US military will coordinate the movement of humanitarian aid but will not distribute it once it reaches Gaza. The Pentagon has not yet announced contracts for partners on the ground who will distribute the aid but said it's an interagency effort.