US says Central Command chief held talks on Gaza aid at Rafah, in Israel

The US Central Command says its chief Gen. Michael Kurilla visited the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt and met with senior Israeli officials during a trip to the region last week.

Kurilla was at Rafah on February 27, “where he met with representatives from several international and nongovernmental organizations, the Egyptian 2nd Field Army, and US embassy leadership to discuss the process of delivering humanitarian aid from Egypt into Gaza. The administrators described the challenges, opportunities, and level of support from the international community to increase the throughput of supplies into Gaza,” Centcom says in a statement.

In Israel, Kurilla met with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israel Defense Forces head Herzi Halevi for “wide-ranging discussions on security concerns both within and outside of Israel. The conversations also focused on opportunities to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” the statement reads.

Kurilla also met with Mossad head David Barnea, officers from COGAT and Northern Command chief Ori Gordin during the trip.

Kurilla’s swing through the region also included stops in Jordan and Syria. In Jordan, he once again held talks on getting humanitarian aid into Gaza.

“These are challenging times in the CENTCOM region, and we rely on the professionalism, commitment and competence of our Service-members as well as the strength of our relationships with our partners to solve them,” he says in a statement.