Oct 19 (Reuters) – US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge.
The Pentagon and Israel’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
News of Hegseth’s trip comes a day after US President Donald Trump endorsed Netanyahu in next week’s parliamentary election in Israel – its first vote since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, that shook the country and plunged the Middle East into turmoil, as Israel went to war in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist coalition is projected to lose its governing majority, although the opposition may also struggle to form a government, opinion polls show.
(Reporting by Christian Martinez and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Caitlin Webber)
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