The United States and Israel share intelligence and coordinate counterterrorism through a formal, recurring government dialogue. The annual U.S.-Israel Joint Counterterrorism Group (JCG), launched in the early 1990s, brings the two governments together to address terrorism and strengthen cooperation. U.S. officials have also described intelligence support to Israel in its campaign against Hamas leadership.
A standing counterterrorism dialogue
The JCG is the longest-running strategic counterterrorism dialogue between the two countries. The State Department’s 2019 Country Reports on Terrorism records its annual meeting and says the group was launched in the early 1990s. Its work gives American and Israeli officials a regular channel to discuss shared threats and practical cooperation. The State Department’s Israel country report places the JCG alongside other U.S.-Israel security exchanges.
The wider relationship includes strategic dialogues and security-related exchanges. The State Department describes the annual JCG as one way the governments collaborate on regional threats, alongside regular strategic dialogues. In their 2022 Jerusalem Declaration, President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Yair Lapid affirmed that bilateral cooperation includes intelligence sharing and joint military exercises. The signed declaration places intelligence cooperation within a broader strategic partnership that also covers science, technology and security.
Intelligence support against Hamas leaders
On October 17, 2024, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States had provided Israel intelligence since the beginning of the conflict to help locate and fight Hamas leaders. Asked about a specific Israeli operation, Miller said it was conducted exclusively by Israel and directed questions about its details to Israeli officials. His statement distinguishes the U.S. intelligence support he described from Israel’s conduct of that operation. The briefing transcript records both statements.
This cooperation is one part of a relationship that also includes military assistance, joint defense programs and regional security work. Read the partnership history and the U.S. aid framework for those related areas.