US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Israel on Monday, two sources confirmed to Walla on Tuesday.
Reuters reported that Hegseth also confirmed the visit, but would not elaborate on the details of his talk with Netanyahu.
According to a KAN News report on Tuesday, the main topic of discussion was Iran.
Defense Minister Israel Katz reportedly attended the meeting, but IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and other senior Israeli officials were not invited for confidentiality reasons.
US sources confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that representatives of the United Arab Emirates were not present at the meeting, despite previous reports indicating otherwise.
Hegseth reportedly arrived at the meeting in a military transport plane rather than a US government plane to avoid raising suspicion about the covert meeting.
The unannounced meeting comes eight days before Israeli elections and amid US-Israel discussions to resume combat operations against Iran, according to the report.
Netanyahu, Hegseth meet at Ovda Air Base
The leaders met at the Ovda Air Base in southern Israel, where the US deploys refueling planes and fighter jets, Axios cited two sources as saying.
Hegseth also met with US troops at the base, the report added, citing a source with knowledge.
Later, the US official posted an image of the visit on X/Twitter. "The best of our country, on a historic mission. Godspeed," Hegseth wrote in the post.
The Pentagon and the Israeli Embassy declined Walla's request for comment, and the Prime Minister's Office did not immediately respond.