An unannounced meeting was held between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in southern Israel on Monday, US news site Axios reported.
The meeting took place at Ovda airbase in the Negev desert, where US fighter jets and refuelling aircraft are stationed, two sources familiar with the matter told Axios.
Hegseth has since confirmed that the secret trip took place. Other than saying he had met with US troops, he gave no further details.
"It was an honour to visit our warfighters in @CENTCOM today. The best of our country, on a historic mission. Godspeed," he wrote on X.
Netanyahu flew to the airbase from Israel’s main airport, Ben Gurion, by private plane rather than helicopter, which Israeli news outlet Ynet described as unusual. Ynet also said the meeting was "unusually" long.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz and National Security Adviser Shmuel Ben-Ezra also attended the meeting, according to Axios and Israel’s Channel 12.
Earlier reports in Israeli media suggested that officials from the United Arab Emirates were also present, but Israeli news outlet i24NEWS later reported that no Emirati officials had attended.
Reports of Hegseth’s trip emerged a day after US President Donald Trump endorsed Netanyahu in Israel’s 27 October election. The visit also comes amid heightened US-Israel tensions with Iran and growing concerns about a possible resumption of war.
The US and Israel began striking Iran on 28 February, immediately drawing much of the region into a wider conflict that has left thousands of people dead and rattled the global economy amid disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab.
Oil- and gas-rich Gulf states have come under repeated Iranian attack. The ongoing conflict between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia has become another major front in the wider war.
On Monday, senior sources familiar with mediation efforts told The New Arab that a breakthrough in US-Iran talks was expected to be announced this week, as Qatar and Pakistan continued diplomatic efforts to prevent a renewed war. However, the prospect of an agreement remained highly uncertain, with Tehran refusing to make concessions on its nuclear programme and support for its allied groups across the region.
Tehran has warned that it would retaliate forcefully if Washington and Tel Aviv resumed their attacks.
Earlier this month, Hegseth told reporters: "Iran will never, under any circumstances, possess a nuclear weapon. President Trump is absolutely determined and resolved to ensure they do not obtain one. They will not get it."
He warned that Iran had the option of complying with US demands or, as he put it, "learning the hard way."