The Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's office canceled his anticipated trip to Washington ahead of his scheduled meeting on Wednesday with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
"We were just informed that Minister Gallant will be postponing his trip to Washington, DC. Secretary Austin looks forward to seeing him soon," Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters.
While acknowledging reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Gallant to cancel his trip, Singh did not offer an explanation for the postponement of the trip and refused to engage as she said in "Israeli politics."
She also would not speculate if the postponing of Gallant's visit would impact Israel's response regarding strikes on Iran.
No phone call
Austin and Gallant did not speak on the phone Tuesday morning, though Singh estimated the two defense leaders have directly spoken about 80 times since Oct. 7.
"It's still early, and they're in touch pretty frequently, so a call could always be scheduled for later today or later this week," Singh said. "And with that being said, we still continue to consult with the Israelis on what their response might be."
There's nothing that can be discussed in person that can't be discussed over the phone, she added.
"We're going to continue to engage the Israelis, whether it be here in person at the Pentagon, or over the phone again when it comes to their response," she said.
Singh said Gallant initially scheduled the visit with Austin and the secretary would "always love to host him at the Pentagon" should his trip be rescheduled at a later date.
It's unclear if, or when, Gallant's visit could be rescheduled.
Austin was slated to travel to Israel late last month though his trip was cancelled due to escalating tensions with Lebanon.
Singh denied that the back-to-back trip cancellations from both Gallant and Austin indicated a fraying in their relationship.
"To the contrary," Singh said. "I don't think there's tension. I certainly wouldn't read into anything there."