Secretary of War Pete Hegseth traveled to an Israeli air base housing US warplanes and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The meeting occurred eight days before Israel’s election. 

Two sources with knowledge of the meeting told Axios that Hegseth met with Netanyahu at the Ovda Air Base in southern Israel. The secretary’s trip to Israel followed President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Netanyahu in the Israeli election scheduled for next Tuesday. 

On Sunday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US and Israel would “finish the job” against Iran, but only if Netanyahu remains Prime Minister. “If Israel has the wrong Leader, which would be anyone other than Bibi, America will have to do this work ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so,” he said. “Bibi Netanyahu has been Strong, Brave, and Brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition.”

“Please let this Letter serve to represent my Complete and Total Endorsement of Bibi Netanyahu in his upcoming Race for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Israel. BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” the President added. 

Netanyahu thanked Trump in a Hebrew post on X. “Thank you, President Trump, for the tremendous support and work together,” he wrote. “Together we will complete the mission!”

Israel and the US launched a joint surprise attack on Iran in February that ignited a region-wide war. Trump denies that Netanyahu persuaded him to launch the war. However, the Israeli leader lobbied the American President to attack Iran during several meetings prior to the start of the war. 

While the war was started as a joint effort between Washington and Tel Aviv, Israel has remained on the sidelines of the conflict since June. In July, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Tel Aviv was not interested in rejoining the war against Iran.

“The State of Israel has no interest in joining the contained confrontation between Iran and the United States,” the Israeli minister said. “The current situation is the best one for us.”