Defense Minister Yoav Gallant will head to Washington, DC on Sunday for an official trip at the invitation of his American counterpart, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, his office said Saturday.

Gallant will meet Austin, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and other senior US officials during the visit.

The Defense Ministry said Gallant will discuss “the progress of the fighting to dismantle Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the efforts to return the hostages held captive by Hamas, the actions being taken on the ground to bring in humanitarian aid, as well as the actions to improve regional stability and strengthen the special cooperation between the defense establishment and the American government with an emphasis on the procurement processes to preserve the qualitative advantage of the State of Israel in the region.”

This weekend, Axios reported that Gallant is expected to present a wish list of US weapons in the meetings and request that delivery will be expedited.

Israel has reportedly complained of a slowdown in US weapons deliveries, amid growing US-Israel strains over the war. Washington has said there was no deliberate delay in shipments.

A senior Israeli official told Axios that Gallant’s requests include short-term needs for the war in Gaza and longer-term asks like the option to purchase more F-35 and F-15 jets, according to Axios.

Joining Gallant on the Washington trip is Defense Ministry Director General Eyal Zamir, the minister’s chief of staff, Shachar Katz, his military secretary, Brig. Gen. Guy Markizeno, the commander of the IDF’s Strategic Division, Brig. Gen. Benny Gal, COGAT official Col. Elad Goren, and Dror Shalom, the head of the ministry’s Political-Military Bureau.

The delivery of US weapons to Israel has come under the spotlight amid the ongoing war, as some in the Democratic party want to see more conditions on such sales.

Separately, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be sending two of his most trusted aides, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, to Washington this week to discuss the continuation of the war on Hamas with the Biden administration amid mounting tensions over the management of the war, and Israel’s intention to operate in the southernmost Gazan city of Rafah.

A representative from COGAT, the IDF unit responsible for coordinating aid in the Gaza Strip, will also be making the trip to Washington, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

The city is Hamas’s last stronghold in Gaza, and the location of its last four battalions, according to Israel, which has vowed to destroy the terror group following its October 7 attack, when thousands of terrorists killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostage.

Israel and the US have been at odds over an offensive in Rafah, where over a million are believed to be sheltering.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel on Friday, on the last leg of his sixth regional tour since the October 7 Hamas massacre, to meet with Netanyahu and other leaders.

In the meeting, Netanyahu doubled down on the message he has expressed in recent days — that while Israel will happily work with the US on improving the humanitarian situation and evacuating civilians from Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, a military operation there is inevitable.

“The Prime Minister stressed that he is determined to operate in Rafah in order to eliminate for good the remaining Hamas battalions, while offering humanitarian solutions to the civilian population,” the PMO said.

Blinken said he told Netanyahu in response, however, that a major ground offensive in Rafah was not the way to defeat Hamas. And he warned starkly that it would risk more civilian fatalities, undermine aid assistance, risk greater isolation for Israel and endanger Israel’s security and international standing.

In a video statement following his meeting with Blinken, Netanyahu said, “I told him that I deeply appreciate the fact that for more than five months, we have stood together in the war against Hamas.”

“I told him that we recognize the need to evacuate the civilian population for the war zone and of course to take care of humanitarian needs, and we are working on that,” he continued.

“But I also told him that we don’t have a way to defeat Hamas without going into Rafah, and eliminating the remaining battalions there. And I told him that I hope that we will do it with America’s support, but if we need, we will do it alone,” he said. Israel says it has dismantled most of Hamas’s original 24 battalions, but the final four are deployed in Rafah, bolstered by gunmen who have fled south as the IDF moved through the Strip.

Blinken held one-on-one meetings with both Netanyahu and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz on Friday, along with the war cabinet.