Israeli defense minister’s Pentagon trip postponed amid tensions between Biden and Netanyahu

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was scheduled to travel to Washington , where he was set to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday, but the trip was postponed, according to the Defense Department.

The two leaders have spoken regularly throughout the war and even more frequently in recent weeks as the conflict in the Middle East has intensified. Gallant last visited the Pentagon to meet with Austin in June.

"We were just informed that Minister Gallant will be postponing his trip to Washington, DC. Secretary Austin looks forward to seeing him soon," Pentagon deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters on Tuesday. She did not provide a specific reason for the postponement, though she did say Gallant was the one who initiated the in-person meeting.

Benny Gantz, another Israeli government official, pointed the finger behind Gallant's delayed visit at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , who reportedly put conditions on his trip that involved him getting a phone call from Joe Biden. The president did not call Netanyahu on the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, and his administration has been vague about communications in recent weeks. Biden instead called Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday.

"Canceling the flight of the minister of defense to the USA — damage to the security of the country at a critical time for our security, for personal and political considerations," Gantz said. "A prime minister with Israel's security at the forefront of his mind would send the minister of defense, coordinate the messages with him."

Austin and Gallant would have likely spoken about Israel's expected retaliation against Iran for last week's massive missile barrage. Iran fired roughly 180 ballistic missiles toward Israel, most of which were intercepted, and the United States helped. If Israel's retaliation incurs another Iranian attack, the U.S. would likely be involved in defending Israel again.

Iranian officials said it carried out the attack in response to Israel's operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, including the assassination of the group's secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, and Israel's presumed killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran, on July 31.

Austin was reportedly upset about the limited notice given ahead of the Israeli strike targeting Nasrallah, according to the Jerusalem Post .

"I think we've been very clear that it's helpful to be able to have awareness about activities in the region, and for several reasons," Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said Monday. "One, to ensure that we can protect Americans and U.S. forces throughout the region in terms of potential second- and third-order effects, but then also as we work to support the defense of Israel. So, again, confident that those conversations will continue to happen going forward and that we'll keep those lines of communication."

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Israel has killed several other Hezbollah leaders over the last couple of weeks since it increased the scale of its attacks in Lebanon. It has also carried out limited cross-border raids to target Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon.

More than 1,400 people in Lebanon have been killed and more than 1.2 million have been displaced over the last several weeks, according to the Lebanese health ministry.