Netanyahu to be first foreign leader to visit Washington in Trump 2.0

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump next week, NBC News reported, citing White House officials.

Netanyahu will be the first foreign leader to meet President Trump in his second term of office.

The Israeli PM was invited in a letter from the US president, in which he was asked to come to the White House on 4 February to “discuss how we can bring peace to Israel and its neighbors, and efforts to counter our shared adversaries.”

A White House official told NBC News that Trump had extended an invitation to Netanyahu to visit the US, and the invitation was accepted by his office.

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Netanyahu’s office said that the meeting is set to take place on February 4.

Earlier, Trump said on Monday that Netanyahu would be coming to Washington soon for a meeting with him. “I look forward to discussing how we can bring peace to Israel and its neighbors, and efforts to counter our shared adversaries,” Trump wrote in a letter to Netanyahu on Tuesday.

A fragile ceasefire came into effect between Israel and Hamas on January 19, 2025, after a 15-month-long war in Gaza. The war started after fighters from the Palestinian armed group crossed the Gaza fence in southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 people hostage.

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The attack led to Israel’s campaign in Gaza, which later escalated to the involvement of armed group Hezbollah and Iran.

The agreement has facilitated the return of over 300,000 displaced Gazans to their homes, though many find their neighborhoods destroyed.

The invasion led to a serious humanitarian crisis in the region. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that 47,354 people have died in Gaza since the conflict began. Additionally, a letter from US physicians to President Biden in October 2024 stated that 62,413 people in Gaza have died from starvation and lack of medical care.

PM Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.