CENTCOM chief arrives in Israel for his 2nd visit in week

JERUSALEM

The Israeli military reported on Friday that US Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander General Michael Kurilla arrived in Tel Aviv for his second visit in a week.

In a statement, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said "General Michael Kurilla, Commander of the US Central Command, arrived in Israel yesterday (Thursday) for his second visit within a week.”

“He is an official guest of Chief of General Staff General Herzi Halevi," he said.

Halevi and Kurilla assessed the latest security situation and preparations following Israel's declaration of a "state of alert," the statement said, referring to the security situation after the recent assassinations of Hamas' political bureau chief and Lebanon-based Hezbollah's top commander.

Adraee noted that Kurilla visited the Israeli Air Force headquarters where he conducted a situation assessment with its Commander Major-General Tomer Bar.

His visit comes after Israel declared a "state of alert" in anticipation of possible retaliation from Iran and Hezbollah after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut over a week ago.

Kurilla arrived in Tel Aviv, marking his second visit in a week to meet with military officials, Israeli media reported.

During his first visit on Monday, Kurilla met with Gen. Halevi and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to discuss "coordinating defensive actions against a potential attack from Iran and Hezbollah."

Separately, CENTCOM announced on Thursday that F-22 Raptors had arrived in the region as part of US forces "posture changes in the region to mitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or its proxies."

Fears have grown about a full-blown war between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah amid a months-long exchange of cross-border fire.

However, the situation in the Middle East took a dangerous turn when Israeli forces assassinated two important commanders, acknowledging the killing of Shukr in Beirut but neither denying nor accepting the killing of Haniyeh in Iran's capital, Tehran.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of an Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip which has killed nearly 39,700 people since last October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara