Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, head of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), arrived in Israel on Wednesday night for a trip focused on strengthening relations between the militaries, especially regarding naval operations.
Kurilla, who was being hosted by Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, began his trip on Thursday with a visit to the Israeli Navy’s elite Shayetet 13 commando unit.
Kurilla was briefed by the head of the unit, Cpt. “Aleph,” who can only be identified by the initial of his first name in Hebrew. The briefing focused on the unit’s operations, recent joint activity with the US Navy, and recent intelligence assessments, the IDF said.
The IDF took the opportunity of Kurilla’s trip to release footage of recent joint Israeli-US naval activity in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a strategic chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
After the visit to the Shayetet 13 unit, Kurilla and Halevi held a separate meeting during which they discussed the “continued expansion of the cooperation and sharing of operational capabilities between the two militaries,” the IDF said.
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