Pentagon dispatches top officials as concerns grow over Israel’s conduct in Gaza war

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 focused strikes against Hamas leadership 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.