President Biden is scheduled to meet with his national security team in the Situation Room on Monday ahead of an expected Iranian attack on Israel.
The White House announced that Vice President Kamala Harris, a leading Democratic candidate, would also attend the meeting.
The meeting came a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with his Israeli counterpart on Sunday to reiterate U.S. support for the Jewish state, amid rising tensions with Iran and its proxies after 10 months of fighting Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip and fears of a broader regional war.
According to a Pentagon statement, Secretary of Defense Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant discussed the Pentagon’s efforts to strengthen U.S. force posture in the region, support Israel’s defense, and deter and ease broader tensions in the region.
The meeting came on the same day that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on Sunday that Israel was already in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its proxies.
Tensions in the region are already at an all-time high following the killings last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and a top Hamas political leader in Iran.
Iran and its allies have condemned Israel and warned of retaliation, and Hamas said it had begun consultations to select a new leader.
Netanyahu said Israel was prepared for any scenario. Jordan’s foreign minister, who is on a rare visit to Iran as part of diplomatic efforts, said he “want to put an end to the escalation of tensions.”
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly told colleagues on Sunday that Iran and Hezbollah could attack Israel as early as Monday. From Axios.
Gen. Michael Eric Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), is due to arrive in Israel on Monday to coordinate preparations for the expected attack, the spokesman said. The Israel Times.
In Israel, some prepared bomb shelters, recalling an unprecedented direct military strike by Iran in April after a suspected Israeli attack killed two Iranian generals.
Israel said almost all of the drones and ballistic and cruise missiles were intercepted.
“Iran has long provided weapons and funding to terrorist organizations across the Middle East, including by smuggling explosives into Israeli territory for use in terrorist attacks against civilians,” IDF spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari said in a statement. “The IDF and ISA have already thwarted numerous attacks in which claymore-type explosives were smuggled into Israeli territory. We remain committed to countering Iranian terrorism wherever it may be.”
The war in Gaza was sparked by an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel that left around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, dead and around 250 taken hostage.
About 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in brutal Israeli retaliation, according to the Gaza Strip’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which makes no distinction between civilians and combatants.
Intense air strikes and ground operations have caused widespread destruction and forced most of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million residents to flee.
The terrorist group Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in artillery fire along the Lebanese border since the war began, which has intensified in recent months.
Hezbollah said this was aimed at relieving pressure on its Iran-backed ally Hamas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
