JERUSALEM (VINnews) – Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, held meetings Tuesday with top Israeli military officials, including a poignant encounter with Holocaust survivor Bella Haim on Yom Hashoah, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Cooper and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir met with Haim, the grandmother of Yotam Haim — one of three Israeli hostages mistakenly killed by Israeli troops in Gaza in December 2023. The two military leaders heard Haim’s personal testimony and story of survival, according to the IDF.

Haim was born in the Polish town of Stoczek and survived the Holocaust by fleeing with her family to Russia.

The high-level meeting comes as Cooper is in Israel for discussions with Israeli defense leadership. The two commanders are also expected to address the ongoing campaign against Iran and contingency plans should the war resume, the IDF said.