LONDON — It will be hosted by President Joe Biden Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House on Tuesday as the outgoing administration seeks progress on a cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
Herzog’s office said Monday that the president will meet Biden at the White House at 11:30 a.m. ET, after which he will make a statement to the media.
While in Washington, Herzog’s office said, the president will also meet with Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump. has chosen Serving as the next US ambassador to the United Nations—and Sen. Lindsey Graham, Trump’s longtime foreign policy adviser.
Biden will host Herzog amid international concern that Israel is not facilitating adequate humanitarian aid to Gaza.
President Joe Biden arrives on Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, after returning from Delaware.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
The Biden administration gave Israel a 30-day window for food and emergency aid to the devastated territory last month, warning that failure to resolve the issue could trigger US laws to cut military aid to Israel. The deadline to move forward is Tuesday.
A letter signed by several international aid agencies and published on Tuesday said Israel has failed to respond to the concerns. “The situation is even more dire today than it was a month ago,” the groups wrote, according to a report by The Associated Press.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar played down the situation on Monday, telling reporters that “the problem will be resolved.”
Herzog’s visit comes as Trump’s transition operation gathers momentum, shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced his close relationship with the president-elect.
Netanyahu said this week that he has spoken to Trump three times since the Nov. 5 election, describing the talks as “very good and important conversations designed to further enhance the strong bond between Israel and the United States.”
Axios reports that Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer — a long-time close confidant of Netanyahu — also met with Trump on Sunday at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks to reporters during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on October 22, 2024 in Tel Aviv.
Nathan Howard/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Trump is expected to highlight Biden’s Middle East diplomacy in recent months, as his administration seeks to end the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon and free dozens of hostages — including four Americans — taken by Palestinian militants. On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked southern Israel.
Trump’s first term saw a close US-Israel alignment. The incoming president is expected to strengthen American support for Netanyahu’s government and revive “maximum pressure” on Iran.
Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders have branded Tehran as the “head of the octopus” funding and directing attacks against their nation.
Netanyahu said of his talks with Trump this week: “We see the Iranian threat in all its facets, and the dangers they reflect.”
ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Dana Savir contributed to this report.
