Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallad will “soon” travel to Washington for talks with his counterpart Lloyd Austin on the war with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, the US Pentagon announced yesterday Saturday.

During their telephone conversation on Tuesday, Mr. Gallant accepted an offer from Mr. Austin to travel to the United States, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Gen. Patrick Ryder explained.

The date of the visit has not yet been set, however the purpose is to “further discuss current security developments in the Middle East,” the top US official clarified via X.

The administration of US President Joe Biden continues to press, without success so far, to declare a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which he says he finds agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Israel-Hamas war erupted on October 7 when the Palestinian Islamist movement’s military wing launched an unprecedented raid on southern sectors of Israeli territory that killed 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on in official Israeli data. Another 251 people were kidnapped, of whom 116 are still being held hostage in the Gaza Strip, but 41 are believed to be dead, according to the Israeli military.

In retaliation, the Israeli armed forces have launched wide-scale operations in the Gaza Strip that have killed at least 37,296 people, most of them civilians, according to health ministry data in the Hamas-ruled enclave.