Netanyahu Seeks to Move Up White House Visit Amid War Talks on Gaza
Israeli PM pushes for Washington trip next week as strategic envoy Dermer holds high-level meetings with Trump administration officials on Gaza war and potential hostage deal.
Watan-Hebrew media reported Monday evening that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to move up his planned visit to the White House to next week.
Channel 12 stated: “In Israel, there are efforts to bring forward Netanyahu’s visit to the White House to next week,” without providing further details.
Meanwhile, Israel Hayom newspaper said that “Netanyahu’s visit to Washington may indeed take place next week, but as of now, no final date has been set between the Prime Minister’s Office and the White House.”
In a related development, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer is expected to meet senior officials from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration in Washington on Tuesday to discuss issues including the ongoing war in Gaza.
Netanyahu Seeks Earlier White House Visit Amid Gaza War Deliberations
According to reports, Dermer is scheduled to meet U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also currently serves as National Security Advisor.
Last Friday, the Hebrew news site Walla reported that Dermer was to travel to Washington on Monday (today) to hold discussions about the war in Gaza and to coordinate Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to the White House.
At the time, a senior U.S. official told the site that Netanyahu’s visit was expected in the second half of July, before today’s reports emerged about his interest in moving the trip to next week.
Netanyahu’s push to accelerate his visit comes as he convenes a security cabinet meeting on Monday evening to discuss the “future of the war” in Gaza, including the possibility of reaching a hostage exchange deal, following a prior meeting that ended without decisions.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has waged a genocidal war in Gaza—marked by mass killings, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement—defying international pleas and International Court of Justice orders to stop.
Backed by the U.S., the war has left over 190,000 Palestinians killed or wounded, most of them women and children, and over 11,000 missing. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced, and famine has claimed numerous lives, including those of many children.
Israel has also maintained a blockade on Gaza for 18 years. Now, around 1.5 million of the enclave’s 2.4 million residents are homeless after their homes were destroyed in the war
