US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Israeli ​Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit ‌to Israel on Monday, Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge of the matter.

The visit has not been officially confirmed. The Pentagon declined to comment, while the Israeli Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

News of Hegseth's ⁠trip comes a day after US President Donald Trump endorsed ​Netanyahu in next week's parliamentary election in Israel – its ​first vote since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, that shook the country and plunged the Middle East into turmoil, as Israel entered into conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition, led by his Likud party and comprising other right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties, is projected to lose its governing majority, ‌although ⁠the opposition may also struggle to form a government, opinion polls show.

US Vice President JD Vance, however, declined to endorse Netanyahu in an interview earlier on Monday, ​saying he was ​not getting ⁠involved in Israeli elections.

"I endorse American candidates, and that's where I'm focused on ​is the midterms," Vance, who traveled to ​Budapest and endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the Hungarian election earlier this year, said in an interview with digital media outlet 2WAY.

"I'm not ⁠anti-endorsing ​him, but I'm not pro-endorsing him, ​I'm not getting involved in Israeli elections," Vance said.