WASHINGTON

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met top US officials in Florida on Monday ahead of talks with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago during his fifth visit to the US in 2025.

“I had a great meeting in Florida with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio,” Netanyahu wrote on US social media company X after he met with the top US diplomat.

The Israeli prime minister then met with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The meeting, which Netanyahu reported on X, was also attended by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine on the US side.

Trump and Netanyahu are expected to meet at 1pm local time (1800GMT), according to the White House.

Shortly after arriving on Sunday, Netanyahu held a conference call with billionaire Elon Musk, who accepted an invitation to attend a Smart Transportation Conference in Israel in March, according to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.

Netanyahu is on his fifth trip to the US since the start of Trump’s second term, with his visit coming as talks continue to advance to the second phase of the October Gaza ceasefire plan, which followed more than two years of Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian enclave.

The offensive has killed more than 71,200 Palestinians and injured over 171,200 others since October 2023.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to keep Gaza’s crossings largely closed, preventing the entry of mobile homes and reconstruction materials and worsening the humanitarian crisis affecting over 2 million people.

The first phase of the ceasefire agreement included a halt to war, partial Israeli withdrawal, the exchange of all Israeli hostages—living and deceased — in return for the release of hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel, and the entry of “full humanitarian aid” into Gaza.

The second phase, outlined in Trump’s 20-point peace plan, includes a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, deployment of an international stabilization force (ISF), and the establishment of a Palestinian “technocratic” committee to temporarily govern Gaza.

Axios reported last week, citing anonymous US officials, that Trump’s top team has grown “increasingly frustrated” with Netanyahu’s steps to “undermine the fragile ceasefire.”

Secretary of State Rubio said last week that the next step would be announcing a “Board of Peace” and a Palestinian technocratic group to manage daily governance in Gaza, followed by finalizing the ISF’s structure and mandate.​​​​​​​