U.S. officials arrived in Israel on Saturday for high-level talks focused on Gaza and rising regional tensions involving Iran, as Washington steps up diplomatic and military engagement across the region.
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Israel on Saturday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mainly to discuss Gaza, two people briefed on the matter told Reuters.
The U.S. on Thursday announced plans for a “New Gaza” rebuilt from scratch, to include residential towers, data centers and seaside resorts, part of President Donald Trump’s push to advance an Israel-Hamas cease-fire shaken by repeated Israeli violations.
The Israeli prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The head of a transitional Palestinian committee backed by the U.S. to temporarily administer Gaza, Ali Shaath, said on Thursday that the Rafah border crossing - effectively the sole route in or out of Gaza for nearly all of the more than 2 million people who live there - would open next week.
Israel wants to restrict the number of Palestinians entering Gaza through the border crossing with Egypt to ensure that more are allowed out than in, three sources briefed on the matter said ahead of the border's expected opening.
The border was supposed to have opened during the initial phase of Trump's plan to end the war, under a cease-fire reached in October.
Israeli attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, have killed 71,654, and at 481 since the October 2025 cease-fire.
Earlier this month, Washington announced that the plan had now moved into the second phase, under which Israel is expected to withdraw troops further from Gaza, and Hamas is due to yield control of the territory's administration.
The Gaza side of the crossing has been under Israeli military control since 2024.
Trump also said on Thursday that the United States has an "armada" heading toward Iran, but hoped he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear program.
Against this backdrop, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Brad Cooper also arrived in Israel on Saturday, according to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.
“Later today he is expected to meet with top security officials,” the daily said.
The visit comes amid growing concerns in Israel over the possibility that Iran could carry out a “preemptive attack,” alongside rising fears that Tehran may be close to being targeted by a potential U.S. military strike, as the United States continues to build up its forces in the region, Israel’s Channel 12 reported Friday.
Channel 12 said Adm. Cooper is set to meet Israeli Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir and Air Force Commander Tomer Bar. On Thursday, the Israeli army said in a statement that the entire air force is on high alert, amid assessments in Tel Aviv pointing to the possibility of the U.S. launching a military strike on Iran.
Pressure from the U.S. and its ally Israel on Tehran has intensified since the outbreak of popular protests in Iran in late December, triggered by deteriorating economic and living conditions.
For its part, Tehran has accused Washington of seeking, through sanctions, pressure, fomenting unrest, and spreading chaos, to create a pretext for military intervention and regime change.
