US 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 Israeli prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Brad Cooper also arrived in Israel, according to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.
“Later today, he is expected to meet with top security officials,” said the daily.
The visit comes amid growing concerns that Tehran may be close to being targeted by a potential US military strike, as the US continues to build up its forces in the region, Israel’s Channel 12 reported Friday.
Channel 12 said 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 US launching a military strike on Iran.
Pressure from the US and its ally Israel on Tehran has intensified since the outbreak of protests in Iran in late December, triggered by deteriorating economic and living conditions.
Tehran has accused Washington of seeking, through sanctions, pressure, fomenting unrest, and spreading chaos, to create a pretext for military intervention and regime change.
Trump also said on Thursday that the United States has an "armada" heading towards Iran but hoped he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear programme.
Gaza
The head of a transitional Palestinian committee 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, however, 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 ceasefire reached in October between Israel and Hamas.
The death toll in Gaza from Israeli genocide since October 7, 2023, now stands at 71,654, and the death toll since the October ceasefire at 481, according to data from Gaza's health ministry.
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.
The Gaza side of the crossing has been under Israeli military control since 2024.
