Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday during his first official visit to Israel.
The two discussed the Gaza ceasefire, release of the last hostage held by Hamas and the U.N. resolution that advanced U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace proposals, according to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.
Waltz reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the security of the Jewish state and discussed the need for delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza by expanding border crossings, including the Allenby-King Hussein Bridge crossing and the need for continued collaboration in the region, the U.S. mission said.
The two were joined at the meeting by Gil Reich, interim head of Israel’s National Security Council; Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations; and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, according to the prime minister’s office.
Waltz was scheduled to meet on Monday with President Isaac Herzog, followed by a briefing with security officials. He met with the family of Ran Gvili, the last remaining hostage held by Hamas.
“This was a moving and very important meeting,” Danon said of the gathering with Gvili’s family. “The takeaway is clear: Hamas must return Ran Gvili home now. We are working expeditiously to ensure his return and will not rest until he is brought back to Israel for a proper burial.”
As part of the visit, the ambassador was also scheduled to tour Israel’s northern and southern borders, visit the Kerem Shalom Crossing with Gaza and see the Coordination and Monitoring Mechanism for Gaza in Kiryat Gat, which is overseeing the ceasefire in the Strip.
“I was pleased to welcome Amb. Mike Waltz on his first visit to Israel as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations,” Danon said on Monday. “In the face of terror and delegitimization, the strategic partnership between Israel and the United States remains steadfast.”
Waltz’s trip, which included a stop in Jordan, “underscores the United States’s commitment to advancing regional stability, implementing President Trump’s 20-Point Plan for Gaza and supporting the objectives of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2803, which establishes the way forward for the region,” his office said.
In Jordan, Waltz met with King Abdullah II and discussed the “importance of implementing the president’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict,” a U.S. mission spokesman said.
They also discussed humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians in Gaza, as well as “the pivotal role Jordan is playing and will continue to play in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor,” it said.
