Netanyahu to visit White House as Gaza truce pressure mounts

TEL AVIV

(FILES) US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Netanyahu departs the White House in Washington, DC, on April 7, 2025.(Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House next week for talks with President Donald Trump, as Washington ramps up the pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The July 7 visit, Netanyahu's third since Trump returned to power in January, comes after the U.S. president said that he hoped for a truce in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory within a week.

Netanyahu on July 1 confirmed the visit, saying that he will meet with Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff.

He will also meet with senior lawmakers, says Netanyahu.

“These things come in the wake of the great victory we achieved in Operation Rising Lion,” Netanyahu told his ministers in a cabinet meeting. He referred to Israel’s 12-day operation against Iranian nuclear sites that began on June 13.

“Exploiting the success is no less important than achieving the success,” he said.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier that Netanyahu had "expressed interest" in a meeting with Trump and that both sides were "working on a date.

"It's heartbreaking to see the images that have come out from both Israel and Gaza throughout this war, and the president wants to see it end."

A senior Israeli official, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, is due to visit the White House this week for talks to lay the ground for Netanyahu's visit, Leavitt said.

But on the ground, Israel has continued to pursue its offensive across the Palestinian territory.

At least 44 people, including 16 aid seekers, have been killed across Gaza on July 1, hospital sources said.

A group of 169 aid organisation called for an end to a U.S.- and Israeli-backed aid distribution scheme in Gaza after repeated reports of people being killed while seeking rations.

The Israeli army launched a review into a strike on a seafront Gaza cafe it says targeted militants, but which rescuers said killed 24 people.

Report said that children gather at the cafe for a birthday party.