diff --git a/optimum/habana/transformers/models/llava/modeling_llava.py b/optimum/habana/transformers/models/llava/modeling_llava.py
index 8119f442c5..36ebb8316a 100644
--- a/optimum/habana/transformers/models/llava/modeling_llava.py
+++ b/optimum/habana/transformers/models/llava/modeling_llava.py
@@ -151,7 +151,8 @@ def forward(
 
             # 1. Extra the input embeddings
             inputs_embeds = self.get_input_embeddings()(input_ids)
-
+            
+            image_features = None
             # 2. Merge text and images
             if pixel_values is not None and input_ids.shape[1] != 1:
                 image_outputs = self.vision_tower(