The announcement came as the United States pressures Israel and Hamas to continue a ceasefire that has paused a devastating 15-month war in Gaza.

The visit by the envoy, Steven Witkoff, was set to take place as Israeli and Hamas officials prepared for a new round of negotiations aimed at cementing the current cease-fire in Gaza and allowing more exchanges of hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talk in the midst of a joint news conference in the White House in Washington, U.S., January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb.

Already, the fragile deal has come under considerable stress, and it could collapse in the weeks to come. Yet for the time being, the fighting has stopped in both Gaza and Lebanon, and hostages have begun to come home.

US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his proposal to “clean out” Gaza by removing Palestinians living there to Jordan and Egypt, a plan which has appalled some allies but has been quickly embraced by Israel’s far right.

The president expanded on a controversial idea that was rejected by the Arab states and would represent a significant shift in U.S. policy.

President Trump signed an executive order to build an "Iron Dome for America," modeled on Israel’s missile defense system.

An executive order said the United States faced a “catastrophic threat” from advanced aerial weapons. But a defense system like Israel’s may not be feasible in the country, which is more than 400 times larger.

While speaking to House Republicans in Miami, President Donald Trump says he is ordering the construction of an Iron Dome-style air defense system.