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The Israeli Broadcasting Authority revealed on Tuesday that the Director-General of the Ministry of Defense, Eyal Zamir, was excluded from the secret meeting held on Monday between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in Israel.
The official Broadcasting Authority stated: "Chief of Staff Zamir did not attend the extraordinary meeting held last night at an airbase in the south, nor was he invited to it."
It added that the meeting was attended by Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, US Secretary of Defense Hegseth, and others.
The Broadcasting Authority did not explain the reasons for not inviting Zamir to the meeting, which was held at the "Uvda" airbase in southern Israel without prior announcement.
On Tuesday, Israeli media reported that Netanyahu met "secretly" with Hegseth on Monday at an Air Force military base in southern Israel.
"Channel 12" mentioned that Hegseth's unannounced visit comes eight days before the upcoming Israeli elections on October 27.
It pointed out that this visit comes in light of US-Israeli discussions regarding the possibility of resuming large-scale combat operations against Iran.
On Tuesday, Zamir reiterated that the Israeli army is at a high level of alertness and readiness one week before the general elections.
The Israeli elections are scheduled to be held on October 27, amidst competition between Netanyahu's camp and opposition parties, in light of the ongoing political division regarding the future of governance.
The Israeli Prime Minister admitted on Sunday that he is not confident of winning the elections and is "very worried," as forming a government requires obtaining the confidence of at least 61 deputies out of 120 in the Knesset (Parliament).
Netanyahu has headed the current government since late 2022, while the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him on November 21, 2024, for suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza.
Netanyahu has also been on trial in Israel since 2020 on corruption charges including bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, accusations he denies.
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