6 hours ago
3
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
The private dinner between the two leaders on Monday marks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s third visit to Washington this year.
July 7, 2025, 4:05 p.m. ET
President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to discuss several high-stakes issues in the Middle East when they meet for dinner on Monday night, such as the long-term future of Gaza and the prospect of Israel normalizing relations with its Persian Gulf neighbors, according to two people with knowledge of the plans.
Mr. Trump has expressed urgency to secure an Israel-Hamas cease-fire and hostage release deal, the subject of talks underway in Doha.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss the recent U.S. airstrikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran, a surgical effort amid a broader Israeli war on the country, as part of a broader conversation about reducing instability in the region, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the private meeting publicly.
Mr. Netanyahu, who arrived in Washington a little after 1 a.m. Monday, is set to first meet with Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and national security adviser, before having dinner with Mr. Trump.
It is Mr. Netanyahu’s third visit to the White House since Mr. Trump took office for a second time in January, a number that surpasses any other foreign leader. The two men are not personally close — and in fact have long harbored mutual suspicion — but have forged a working relationship out of necessity, allies of both say.
Any release of hostages in Gaza would need the agreement of Hamas, which has a new leader after Israel killed several of its top officials.
