JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Maryland — US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and top general CQ Brown are headed to Tel Aviv to press Israeli leaders on ways to shift their war effort in Gaza to a more focused campaign as international pressure mounts over civilian deaths.
Austin is expected to advise senior Israeli officials on methods to pivot the campaign from wide-scale ground-clearance operations to more precise strikes against Hamas leadership in a way that will allow for an eventual transition to postwar governance and restoration of services in the Palestinian enclave.
“The IDF have not done something like this," a senior US defense official told Al-Monitor and other outlets ahead of Austin’s departure.
"They have never transitioned a campaign like this and had to think about serious stabilization activities that will require coordination with the international community,” the official said.
