Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived in the United States for meetings with President Donald Trump and others in his administration to discuss the Gaza ceasefire deal and his Middle East plans.

On his arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Sunday, Netanyahu received a red carpet welcome from senior Israeli officials and an honour guard bearing US and Israeli flags.

So who is he meeting, what’s on the agenda, and why is this visit significant?

When is he meeting Trump and others?

On Monday, the Israeli premier is scheduled to meet Steve Witkoff, Washington’s new point man for the Middle East. Witkoff has been widely credited — including by fellow mediators such as Qatar — for helping broker the Gaza ceasefire deal that came into effect in January.

A day later, a meeting has been scheduled at the White House in the afternoon, where Netanyahu and Trump will sit down together.

Netanyahu is expected to have a meeting with US military leaders at the Pentagon on Wednesday, followed by meetings with members of Congress on Thursday.

How is the timing significant?

His visit coincides with expected talks involving Israel, Hamas and mediating nations towards the second phase of the Gaza Strip ceasefire agreement.

The Israeli prime minister has repeatedly said he aims to return to fighting soon, while expressing his intention to maintain Israel’s military occupation of parts of Syria and Lebanon.

After one of his far-right ministers quit the government, Netanyahu is under political pressure to ensure that his coalition can demonstrate military superiority in the region, including by pursuing expanded military attacks.

Witkoff, the US envoy to the region, is expected to continue discussions with mediators Qatar and Egypt after talking with Netanyahu in Washington, DC.

Visiting about two weeks after Trump’s inauguration, Netanyahu has become the first foreign dignitary to be invited to the White House on an official visit.

The meetings also come at a time of global concern over Trump’s announced tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China, which are expected to be imposed starting Tuesday.

As the three top trade partners of the US announced their retaliatory measures, the US president threatened the European Union with tariffs as well. The 27-member bloc has warned it will retaliate if it is targeted.

What is Netanyahu focusing on?

Before departing for the US, Netanyahu said he will focus on goals set by Israel for the Gaza war, during his meetings.

Those include achieving total victory over Hamas and the release of all captives held in Gaza, with the Israeli leader also emphasising “dealing with the Iranian terror axis in all its components” in reference to the Tehran-led “axis of resistance”.

Meanwhile, Hamas appears to have quickly reasserted control over Gaza, emphasising that it will not release more captives during the second phase if the Israeli side does not honour its commitments by ending its military occupation of the enclave.

Netanyahu said decisions made by Israel and the US during the war had already changed the face of the Middle East, and that he intends to “redraw the map even further and for the better”.

He is also eyeing further normalisation of ties with Arab countries of the region despite the devastation of the war and Trump’s plan to “clean out” Gaza by pressuring Egypt and Jordan to accept hundreds of thousands of more displaced Palestinians. The governments in Cairo and Amman have both rejected the Trump proposal.

How has the Netanyahu-Trump relationship evolved?

The two leaders enjoyed a strong alliance during Trump’s first tenure, when he recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved the US embassy there. Trump also recognised Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights and brokered the Abraham Accords — agreements that normalised Israel’s relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

But after President Joe Biden’s victory, Netanyahu quickly congratulated him, unlike many of Trump’s other close allies who hesitated or echoed his unsubstantiated election fraud claims.

Trump was reportedly angry with Netanyahu after that, and the two did not have much contact.

But their relationship gradually rebounded after Netanyahu’s return to power in Israel with a far-right government at the start of 2023, despite occasional Trump criticism of the handling of the Gaza war.

Netanyahu said the fact that Trump invited him first to visit after his inauguration is a “testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American alliance” and the “strength of our personal friendship”.

Will there be protests?

Netanyahu was met with many protests when he last visited Washington, DC last year as US lawmakers broke records for how many standing ovations they gave him during an address to Congress.

Similar street demonstrations and online expressions of protest and condemnation are expected this time as well.

Similar to Netanyahu’s previous visit, some Democratic lawmakers may also choose to skip any speeches and meetings or express their criticism of unconditional US support for Israel despite its killing of more than 61,700 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Government Media Office in the enclave. Several thousand people have also been killed in Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank and Lebanon over the past year. Israel also continues to occupy parts of Lebanon and Syria.