Mike Pence: The secret treatment of the Pentagon chief in the hospital is unacceptable

Former US Vice President Mike Pence described Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's secret hospitalization as "unacceptable" because Americans have a right to know about his health condition.

Pence told CNN, "The Secretary of Defense's decision is completely unacceptable. I believe that the American people have the right to know their health condition."

Pence also accused Austin of negligence, noting that the president "didn't know about it" and US allies were at war in Eastern Europe and Israel.

The former Vice President added that the Minister of Defense and the US administration must provide facts about the minister’s admission to the hospital.

Yesterday, Saturday, the Pentagon Journalists Association sent a letter to Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder, expressing its anger that the public and the media were not informed of Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization.

NBC reported on Saturday that Austin has been receiving intensive treatment in the hospital for 4 days, and his deputy, Kathleen Hicks, has handed over his duties during this period.

According to Politico, the Pentagon did not inform the White House, including National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, about the health condition of the Secretary of Defense and about his admission to the hospital until 3 days had passed.

In his first statement since his admission to the hospital , US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that he is recovering and is expected to return to the Pentagon soon.

The US Department of Defense announced that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized on Monday due to complications resulting from a routine medical procedure. He is recovering and expects to be able to return to work on Saturday.

"Wall Street Journal": Israel negotiates with Egypt to deploy surveillance and sensor devices in the Philadelphia axis

The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel is negotiating with Egypt to tighten surveillance on the Philadelphia Corridor, which is the corridor connecting Egypt and the Gaza Strip, under the pretext of preventing Hamas from building more tunnels.

The newspaper quoted Egyptian officials, whose identities were not revealed, saying that Israel asked Egypt to install sensors along the axis of the Philadelphia Corridor.

The officials said that Israel, which previously controlled the corridor, also requested to be notified directly if the sensors were activated, and was given the right to send reconnaissance drones if they were activated, so that it would be alerted if the Hamas movement tried to rebuild its tunnels and corridors. Arms smuggling, after the end of this war.

In response to the Israeli request, the official said that Egypt will study the issue of activating the sensors, but direct notification and allowing Tel Peep to send its reconnaissance drones is considered an infringement on Egyptian sovereignty.

The officials said that the negotiations, which took shape over the past two weeks in this regard, are currently stuck.

For its part, the Israeli government did not respond to the newspaper’s request to comment on the matter.

The Israeli i24NEWS channel reported earlier that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his statements in recent weeks about the importance of Israeli control over the axis, the most recent of which was the press conference at the end of last year where he said: “The Philadelphia Axis must be in our hands  and must be closed.” It is clear that every other arrangement "He will not secure what we want."

The Philadelphia Axis, or what is known as Salah al-Din, is parallel to the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, with a length of 14 kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Kerem Shalom crossing in the east. The peace agreement between Egypt and Israel since 1979 imposed restrictions on the withdrawal of military forces from the sides of the axis.