US Defense Secretary Hegseth meets Prime Minister Netanyahu in Israel — NDTV

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday. This was reported by NDTV World, citing Axios, which quoted two informed sources.

Unannounced trip

The Pentagon and the Israeli Embassy in Washington did not promptly comment on the trip by the head of the US defense department. Hegseth last met with Netanyahu in Washington in July.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Parliamentary elections

The report of the visit emerged the day after US President Donald Trump endorsed Netanyahu ahead of parliamentary elections in Israel, which are due to take place next week. These will be the first elections in the country since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, after which Israel launched a war in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran.

According to opinion polls, Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition may lose its parliamentary majority. At the same time, the opposition may also find it difficult to form a government.