Israel’s Minister of Defense cancels visit to Pentagon amid Middle East conflict escalation

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant canceled a visit with Pentagon officials scheduled for Wednesday, amid a rapid escalation of the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East.

Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters during a briefing Tuesday that the Pentagon was informed Gallant had postponed his trip to Washington, D.C.

"Minister Gallant was traveling to the U.S. and the secretary welcomed him to the Pentagon to host him here for a bilateral meeting," Singh said. "

One reporter asked Singh about reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Gallant not to go to Washington, which Singh said she was aware of, but preferred to stay out of Israeli politics.

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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, she noted, has a "great relationship" with Gallant, and the two have spoken in the neighborhood of 80 times.

"The remain in constant communication, whether it be an in-person meeting here, or, you know, meetings, phone calls that need to be done remote," Singh explained. "That relationship still maintains and can be done…at any time, any place in the world…"

When asked if there were tensions between Austin and Gallant, Singh pushed back.

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"I don’t think there’s tension," she said. "You can have direct conversations with your friends. You’re not always going to agree on everything, but that doesn’t mean that there’s tensions."

During an exchange with Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst on Sunday, Gallant promised that Israeli forces are considering all options in terms of its response to Iran's attacks against Israel —