{"id":2690938,"date":"2026-10-24T19:03:36","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T23:03:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hegseth-quietly-meets-netanyahu-as-trump-weighs-massive-new-iran-offensive\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T19:03:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T23:03:36","slug":"hegseth-quietly-meets-netanyahu-as-trump-weighs-massive-new-iran-offensive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hegseth-quietly-meets-netanyahu-as-trump-weighs-massive-new-iran-offensive\/","title":{"rendered":"Hegseth Quietly Meets Netanyahu as Trump Weighs Massive New Iran Offensive"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhegseth-quietly-meets-netanyahu-as-trump-weighs-massive-new-iran-offensive%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2690938&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth quietly traveled to Israel on Monday to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as President Donald Trump weighs another major military offensive against Iran.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">The <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecWar\/status\/2112346650094239820?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">unannounced visit<\/a> took place just eight days before Israel\u2019s parliamentary elections and roughly two weeks before America\u2019s midterms. The meeting occurred amid discussions between Washington and Jerusalem about potentially resuming large-scale military operations against Iran,<a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/10\/19\/pete-hegseth-israel-visit-netanyahu-meeting\"> Axios<\/a> reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Hegseth met Netanyahu at Ovda Air Base in southern Israel, where American fighter jets and aerial refueling aircraft are deployed,<a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/10\/19\/pete-hegseth-israel-visit-netanyahu-meeting\"> Axios<\/a> reported, citing two sources.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">The Pentagon referred to a recent <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecWar\/status\/2112346650094239820?s=20&#038;utm_source=chatgpt.com\">X post<\/a> showing Hegseth visiting American troops at Ovda Air Base in southern Israel, where U.S. fighter jets and refueling aircraft are deployed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">\u201cThings are about to get spicy,\u201d a senior military official familiar with the situation recently told the Daily Caller News Foundation, suggesting American operations against Iran could soon intensify.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">The Israeli Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">\u201cAs always, it was an honor to visit our warfighters in @CENTCOM today,\u201d Hegseth wrote in the <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecWar\/status\/2112346650094239820?s=20\">X post<\/a>. \u201cThe best of our country, on a historic mission. Godspeed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">American political leaders visiting Israel is hardly unusual. Former Presidents<a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettyimages.fi\/detail\/uutiskuva\/former-us-president-bill-clinton-waves-upon-his-arrival-at-uutiskuva\/93071829\"> Bill Clinton<\/a>,<a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov\/news\/releases\/2008\/05\/20080515-1.html\"> George W. Bush<\/a> and<a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/obamawhitehouse.archives.gov\/photos-and-video\/video\/2011\/05\/22\/president-obama-2011-aipac-policy-conference\/\"> Barack Obama<\/a> all visited Jerusalem\u2019s Western Wall outside their presidencies, while <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov\/articles\/president-trump-arrives-israel\/\">Trump<\/a> became the first sitting American president to visit the holy site in 2017, according to the White House.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Trump has also publicly backed Netanyahu\u2019s reelection campaign, calling him a \u201cGreat Warrior Prime Minister\u201d and praising his cooperation against Iran in an Oct. 18<a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/117462449149582042\">  post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Vice President JD Vance, however, decline to endorse Netanyahu despite Trump\u2019s public support, saying he would focus on American candidates ahead of the November midterms. \u201cI\u2019m not anti-endorsing him. I\u2019m not pro-endorsing him. I\u2019m not getting involved in Israeli elections,\u201d Vance told journalist Mark Halperin during a Monday interview aboard Air Force Two, according to the <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/pool.pp.tools\/reports\/9781\">White House press pool<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">The meeting also raises questions about the enormous American military resources already expended defending Israel.<b> <\/b>The U.S. military fired more interceptors defending Israel than Israeli forces fired themselves in the Iran War, <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2026\/05\/21\/us-bears-brunt-israels-missile-defense-pentagon-assessments-show\/\">The Washington Post<\/a> reported, citing Pentagon assessments and American officials.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">American forces fired more than 200 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors, roughly half their inventory, while U.S. Navy warships launched more than 100 SM-3 and SM-6 interceptors. Israel fired fewer than 100 Arrow interceptors and approximately 90 David\u2019s Sling interceptors, The Washington Post reported.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">The Pentagon previously defended the expenditure, arguing that both militaries d the defensive burden when accounting for fighter aircraft and other defensive systems, Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">The conflict has also severely depleted America\u2019s missile interceptor inventories. By July, U.S. Patriot stocks had fallen below 1,000 missiles, while THAAD inventories stood at approximately 250 interceptors, according to the<a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.csis.org\/analysis\/renewed-iran-war-would-test-diminished-interceptor-inventories\"> Center for Strategic and International Studies<\/a> (CSIS).<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Replenishing those stockpiles could take years, potentially weakening American readiness for a confrontation with China in the Pacific, according to a separate <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.csis.org\/analysis\/rebuilding-us-missile-inventory-multiyear-project\">CSIS analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">The Trump administration also approved a $2.8 billion arms package for Israel, including 40,000 2,000-pound bombs and 20,000 bunker-busting warheads, <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/09\/15\/us\/politics\/trump-israel-bombs.html\">The New York Times<\/a> reported, citing a U.S. official. The proposed sale would represent one of the largest deliveries of American munitions to Israel, although the weapons could take months or years to produce and deliver, according to the outlet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">The visit follows a substantial American military buildup in the Middle East. Approximately 9,000 additional sailors and Marines are deploying aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and USS Makin Island amphibious ready group, potentially bringing the American naval presence above 20,000 personnel,<a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/42c23e9af0333f4bc3b4f419cc3a603e\"> The Associated Press<\/a> reported, citing a U.S. official.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Beyond the military costs, the Iran War has devastated global energy markets by disrupting oil and natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict has caused the largest oil supply disruption on record, according to the <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iea.org\/topics\/the-middle-east-and-global-energy-markets\">International Energy Agency<\/a> (IEA).<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">The agency projects global oil supply will decline by an average of 5.8 million barrels per day in 2026, with renewed attacks threatening recovery, according to its <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iea.org\/reports\/oil-market-report-october-2026\">October report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\"><a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.il\/en\/pages\/time--table-26\">Netanyahu<\/a> faces parliamentary elections Oct. 27, while<a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/introduction-campaign-finance\/election-results-and-voting-information\/\"> Americans<\/a> vote Nov. 3. Neither government has publicly disclosed what Hegseth and Netanyahu discussed or announced a decision to launch another major offensive against Iran.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter\u2019s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form method=\"post\" style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); window.WJFormsSecure ? WJFormsSecure.submitCorrection() : firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]] = document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display = 'block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src = firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id'] = firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting = jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display = 'block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth quietly traveled to Israel on Monday to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as President Donald Trump weighs another major military offensive against Iran. The unannounced visit took place just eight days before Israel\u2019s parliamentary elections and roughly two weeks before America\u2019s midterms. The meeting occurred amid discussions between Washington and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2690939,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_4639.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2690938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_4639.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2690938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2690938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2690938\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2690939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2690938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2690938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2690938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}