Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Monday, March 4, 2024

Gantz arrives at White House to ‘speak openly’ with senior US officials

4 March 2024, 8:24 pm 3 Edit

Upon entering the White House for his meetings with top Biden administration officials about the ongoing war in Gaza, war cabinet minister Benny Gantz tells reporters, “You should always speak openly, and that is what we will do.”

Gantz is meeting first with White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk followed by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

Later in the afternoon, he will sit down with US Vice President Kamala Harris followed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Tomorrow, Gantz will meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

He is the most senior Israeli official to receive an invitation to Washington since the start of the war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still has not met US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office since returning to the premiership in December 2022.

Gantz’s invite struck a nerve with Netanyahu, who instructed the Israeli Embassy in Washington not to accompany the war cabinet minister during his meetings, according to an Israeli official.

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