A senior U.S. military official visited Israel from Wednesday to Friday, engaging with Israeli defense leaders to discuss the situation in Syria and other regional matters, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).

Army General Michael Kurilla, the commander of CENTCOM, held meetings with Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, the chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, as reported by CENTCOM.

The U.S. has encouraged Israel to maintain close communication regarding developments in Syria, where recent actions by Syrian rebels, led by Abu Mohammed al-Golani, have ended over 50 years of Assad family rule, prompting ousted President Bashar al-Assad to flee the nation.

The international community is closely monitoring whether the new leadership in Syria can bring stability to a country ravaged by over a decade of civil war, which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and a significant refugee crisis.

In the wake of the Assad regime’s collapse, the Israeli military has reported conducting numerous airstrikes in Syria, targeting and destroying a large portion of its strategic weaponry. Minister Katz has instructed Israeli forces to prepare for a winter deployment on Mount Hermon, a critical vantage point overlooking Damascus, indicating Israel’s intention for a sustained military presence in Syria.

“The discussions among the leaders encompassed various regional security challenges, including the current situation in Syria and readiness against other strategic threats,” the CENTCOM statement noted.

CENTCOM reported that Kurilla has recently traveled to Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon. While Israel has expressed approval regarding the ousting of Assad, a close ally of its primary adversary Iran, it harbors concerns about the rebel factions responsible for his removal, many of which have ties to Islamist organizations.

In Lebanon, Kurilla’s visit to Beirut was aimed at overseeing the withdrawal of the initial Israeli forces following a ceasefire established last month, which came after a conflict that resulted in thousands of deaths and the displacement of over a million people.

Simultaneously, Israel is engaged in a separate military campaign in the Gaza Strip, where its operations over the past 14 months have resulted in tens of thousands of fatalities and have drawn allegations of genocide and war crimes, which Israel refutes. This military action was initiated in response to an attack by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, that resulted in the deaths of 1,200 individuals.