Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House next week for talks with President Donald Trump, a US official said Monday, June 30, as Washington ramps up the pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza. The July 7 visit – Netanyahu's third since Trump returned to power in January – comes after Trump said that he hoped for a truce in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory within a week. A Trump administration official confirmed the visit to AFP on condition of anonymity.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier that Netanyahu had "expressed interest" in a meeting with Trump and that both sides were "working on a date."
"This has been a priority for the president since he took office, to end this brutal war in Gaza," Leavitt told reporters in a briefing. "It's heartbreaking to see the images that have come out from both Israel and Gaza throughout this war, and the president wants to see it end."
A senior Israeli official, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, is due to visit the White House this week for talks to lay the ground for Netanyahu's visit, Leavitt said.
Netanyahu became the first foreign leader to visit Trump in his second term in February, when the US president surprised him by suddenly announcing a plan for the United States to "take over" Gaza. The Israeli premier visited again in April.
The end of Israel's 12-day war with Iran has provided a window of opportunity for a deal, with Trump keen to add another peace agreement to a series of recent deals he has brokered.
"We think even next week, we're going to get a ceasefire," Trump told reporters on Friday. He followed up by pressing Israel in a post on his Truth Social network on Sunday to "make the deal in Gaza."
But on the ground, Israel has continued to pursue its offensive across the Palestinian territory in a bid to destroy the militant group Hamas. Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli forces killed at least 51 people on Monday, including 24 at a seafront rest area.
Trump, meanwhile, appeared to leverage US aid to Israel over the weekend as he called for that country's prosecutors to drop corruption charges against Netanyahu.
"The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar a year, far more than any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this," Trump posted.