WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge of the trip, according to Reuters.
Reuters said it could not immediately confirm the visit. The Pentagon declined to comment, and Israel’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.
The reported meeting came a day after President Donald Trump endorsed Netanyahu in Israel’s parliamentary election next week. The vote, set for Oct. 27, is Israel’s first since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which plunged the Middle East into turmoil as Israel went to war in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, according to Reuters.
Opinion polls show Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist coalition is projected to lose its governing majority, Reuters reported. The opposition may also struggle to form a government.
Vice President JD Vance took a different line earlier Monday. In an interview with the digital media outlet 2WAY, Vance declined to endorse Netanyahu, Reuters reported.
“I endorse American candidates, and that’s where I’m focused on is the midterms,” Vance said in the interview, according to Reuters.
“I’m not anti-endorsing him, but I’m not pro-endorsing him, I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections,”
Reuters noted that Vance traveled to Budapest earlier this year and endorsed Viktor Orban in the Hungarian election.
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