Hegseth meets Netanyahu during unannounced Israel visit
publishers 20articles 21first reported 20 Oct, 00:08 UTCdeveloping since 20 Oct · 7 editions
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, according to Axios and a person familiar with the meeting cited by Reuters.
Neither the Pentagon nor Netanyahu’s office disclosed the meeting or said what the two officials discussed. Israel’s Army Radio reported that it took place at an air force base in the southern Israeli desert. Hegseth said on social media that he had visited U.S. service members in the U.S. Central Command area, which includes the Middle East, northeast Africa and parts of Asia.
The visit came amid tensions between the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz and increased attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis. U.S. and Israeli forces launched joint strikes against Iran in late February, triggering a wider regional war. Netanyahu has said he is not seeking to attack Iran before Israel’s October 27 election, while U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will not attack Iran before November’s U.S. midterm elections.
Hegseth’s meeting also followed Trump’s endorsement of Netanyahu ahead of next week’s Israeli parliamentary election. Vice President JD Vance declined to make an endorsement, saying he was not getting involved in the Israeli vote. Opinion polls cited by Al Jazeera suggest Netanyahu’s coalition could lose its governing majority, though opposition parties may also struggle to form a government.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 4 articles, 2 with the publisher's own text; 4 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 6 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
- Publishers
- 20
- Source articles
- 21
- Given to the writer
- 4, 2 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 4
- This version written
- 6 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and published it as written.
Written by a language model from the sources above, then checked by a second model that may only cut, attribute or correct. How it works →