Defense Minister Benny Gantz will arrive in Washington on Thursday to ask for $1 billion in defense aid, US Senator Lindsey Graham told Fox and Friends on Tuesday.
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Gantz will meet with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
According to Fox News, Israeli officials said the purpose of the aid money was to replenish Iron Dome batteries and procure munitions for the air force – specifically laser-guided bombs.
While in Washington, Gantz will also discuss the Iran nuclear deal, the Gaza ceasefire and reconstruction efforts, and the situation in Lebanon.
"There is going to be a request made by the Israelis to the Pentagon on Thursday for $1 billion in aid to replenish Iron Dome batteries. It will be a good investment for the American people. I will make sure in the Senate that they get the money," Graham told Fox a day after meeting Netanyahu and Gantz in Israel.
On Monday, meanwhile, Gantz distanced himself from comments made by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi about bombing a high-rise building in Gaza during Operation Guardian of the Walls that had housed an Associated Press office and other news outlets, along with a Hamas "electronic warfare" center, saying the remarks were not meant to be taken literally.
In an article published on the website of Channel 12 News over the weekend, Kochavi was quoted as saying that "the building was destroyed justly" and he did not have a "gram of regret."
The article claimed that the Hamas terrorist group used various floors of the Jalaa Tower for "significant electronic warfare" meant to disrupt Israeli air force GPS communications.
The article then said Kochavi had told "a foreign source" that AP journalists drank coffee each morning in a cafeteria in the building's entrance with Hamas electronics experts, whether they knew it or not.
The AP called the comments "patently false," noting that "there was not even a cafeteria in the building."
Asked about Kochavi's comments, Gantz told foreign journalists that the military chief was only speaking in figurative terms.
"When the chief of staff talked about it, he was trying to portray the atmosphere, not the actual aspects," Gantz said.
Gantz again alleged that "there was Hamas infrastructure in offices that operated from this building."
Asked to respond to Gantz's comments, the IDF spokesman's office also said Kochavi's statements were meant to be figurative.
"It was never claimed that AP journalists were knowingly interacting with Hamas personnel. On the contrary, due to the nature of Hamas' activities, AP journalists had no means of knowing that Hamas personnel were in the building," it said.
"The chief of the general staff explained the possible circumstances of such an encounter where the terrorist organization Hamas embeds itself within the civilian population and uses civilian buildings for military purposes," it said.
The IDF gave occupants of the building one hour to evacuate before the May 15 airstrike. No one was injured, but the high-rise was flattened.
Gantz said Israel has shared its intelligence with the US government. But he indicated that Israel has no intention of making the information public, saying it did not want to divulge its sources.
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