US President Donald Trump will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.
"Tonight, President Trump will host the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, for dinner, where they will discuss the positive developments taking place in the Middle East region," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
When asked why Netanyahu’s visit would be closed to the press — unlike previous ones that included Oval Office access — Leavitt said the two leaders would be having a private dinner.
"There's many important matters that are obviously ongoing in the region. As you know, the utmost priority for the president right now in the Middle East is to end the war in Gaza and to return all of the hostages.
"Also, as you know, there was a cease fire proposal that Israel supports that was sent to Hamas, and we hope that they will agree to this proposal. We want to see all of the hostages released. That's on the top of the president's that will be discussed, as well as the many other positive developments we've seen in the Middle East," she added.
Leavitt also said Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff intends to travel later this week to Qatar's capital Doha, where he will continue to engage in Gaza ceasefire discussions.
She said talks between Trump and Netanyahu would also focus on recent US strikes on three key Iranian nuclear facilities.
“So this will be a dinner to talk about Operation Midnight Hammer, which was incredibly successful, to talk about peace in Gaza and ending that conflict, as well as many other topics of discussion in relation to Israel and the United States,” she said.
The US dropped six bunker-buster bombs on the Fordo nuclear facility on June 22 and launched dozens of submarine-based cruise missile attacks on two other sites in Natanz and Isfahan as part of its campaign against Iran’s nuclear program.
A sixth round of talks between the US and Iran was scheduled June 15, but Israel launched airstrikes on Iranian military, nuclear, and civilian sites June 13.
The 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran ended with a US-sponsored ceasefire that took effect June 24.
Netanyahu left Tel Aviv on Sunday for Washington, DC to have talks on regional issues, including a Gaza ceasefire deal.
In his third visit to the US within six months, Netanyahu is also expected to meet senior officials of the US administration and members of Congress from both parties.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that there was a "good chance" a Gaza hostage release and ceasefire deal could be reached with the Palestinian group Hamas this week.
Asked about his message to Netanyahu, he said: "We're working on a lot of things with Israel, and one of the things is probably a permanent deal with Iran."
Netanyahu will face a wave of protests during his stay in the US.
Pro-Palestine protesters plan to condemn his visit to the capital and they will also demand an end to US support to Israel's ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
Despite international calls for a ceasefire, Israel has pursued a genocidal war on Gaza, killing more than 57,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children, since October 2023.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
