US, Israel discuss progress in resolving Gaza weapons conflict

Gallant said the progress covered “a variety of issues,” including “the subject of force buildup and the supply of munitions that we need to bring to the State of Israel.”

“I would like to thank the American administration and the American public for their enduring support for the State of Israel,” he said.

Netanyahu has publicly accused the Biden administration in recent days of slowing down arms deliveries to Israel, at war in Gaza since a Hamas attack on October 7.

US officials have denied the accusations and showed their displeasure, months before an election in which Biden's support for Israel has become a liability, with the left flank of his Democratic Party outraged by the heavy toll among Palestinian civilians.

In early May, the United States froze a shipment that included 2,000-pound bombs, and Biden warned of another shutdown as he pressured Israel not to launch a full-scale military assault against Rafah, the town in southern Gaza where more than a million displaced Palestinians had sought refuge.

A senior U.S. administration official said the United States has sent more than $6.5 billion in arms to Israel since October 7, including nearly $3 billion in May alone.

“This is a massive, massive undertaking and nothing is being stopped except for one shipment,” the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

The official blamed the rift on misunderstandings about the “complex” US bureaucratic process. He said Gallant's team and U.S. experts looked at “every case.”

“There has been real progress and a mutual understanding of the situation, of prioritizing some cases over others, so that we can make sure that we are moving things forward in a way that meets the needs of the Israelis,” he said.

Biden — whose approach to Israel has drawn criticism from both progressives and the right — has been reluctant to curb arms deliveries after Israel carried out what U.S. officials described as relatively targeted operations in Rafah.

Netanyahu and Gallant said the most intense phase of the fighting was over – with Israel ready to move its forces to the border with Lebanon after escalating skirmishes with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant movement.

The U.S. official said Washington remained in “fairly intensive conversations” with Israel, Lebanon and other actors and believed neither side was seeking a “major escalation.”

Gallant, who met twice in Washington with Amos Hochstein, the American point of contact between Israel and Lebanon, warned that his army could “inflict massive damage” on Hezbollah if war broke out.

“We don't want war, but we are preparing for all scenarios,” Gallant told reporters.

U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have expressed hope that a ceasefire in Gaza could also lead to a reduction in tensions in Lebanon.

Biden presented a plan for a temporary ceasefire and release of hostages on May 31, but Hamas came back with new demands.

Despite criticism from some of Netanyahu's far-right allies, Gallant said, “We are all committed and strongly support the president's deal.”

“Hamas must accept it or face the consequences,” he said.

The war in Gaza began with the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, most of them civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on Israeli figures.

The militants also captured around 250 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, although the army says 42 are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 37,718 people, also mostly civilians, according to data from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.