Image source, AFP

Netanyahu is now speaking, thanks the US president profusely and calls Trump a remarkable friend for Israel and the Jewish people.

The Israeli PM says they will eliminate the trade deficit with the US, adding he thinks it's the right thing to do.

Netanyahu adds that they intended to take down trade barriers and that Israel can be a model of other countries.

He says he recognises the problems the US has with the system as it currently stands.

Sitting side by side with Netanyahu, the US president calls himself the best president that Israel has ever thought of seeing.

The leaders' discussion included Iran, Israel and trade, Trump said.

Image source, Getty Images

We're now seeing footage from the Oval Office, as Trump and Netanyahu speak to the press.

Trump says the pair had lunch and meetings, and they think they've come up with some "pretty good solutions".

Two Labour MPs say they are "astounded" to have been denied entry to Israel while on a trip to visit the occupied West Bank.

Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang said it was "vital" parliamentarians were able to witness the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory first-hand.

They were refused entry because they intended to "spread hate speech" against Israel, the nation's population and immigration authority said.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy criticised Israeli authorities, describing the move as "unacceptable, counterproductive, and deeply concerning".

But Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Israel had a right to "control its borders", adding it was "significant" there were Labour MPs other countries did not want to let in.

• You can read more about the decision to bar Mohamed and Yang's entry

We're still waiting to hear from Trump and Netanyahu, but we are now seeing pictures of the two in the White House.

After shaking hands outside, they went in and looked at photos together from Netanyahu's previous visit.

The pair then sat down alongside their delegations for discussions. Trump was flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice-President JD Vance.

Image source, Israel Government Press Office

Image source, Israel Government Press Office

Image source, X/@IsraeliPM

Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara were greeted on the tarmac in Washington DC by the Israeli ambassador to Washington DC on Sunday evening.

At Blair House, the residence adjacent to the White House which is used by visiting dignitaries, Netanyahu held talks with US officials overseeing the new global tariff regime yesterday.

Video posted on the Prime Minister's website showed him shacking hands with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

The video also showed the PM accompanied by his ambassador and advisers as they sat around a table with the US officials.

Image source, X/@IsraeliPM

"The meeting was warm, friendly and productive," the PM's office said in a post on X.

The office also shared an image of Netanyahu greeting US Special Presidential Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, who has played a key role in ceasefire negotiations.

The leaders of multiple global humanitarian organisations have signed a letter calling on the world to act so that vital supplies can flow into the war-torn Gaza Strip.

No commercial or humanitarian aid has been permitted to enter Gaza for over a month, says the letter signed by the heads of Unicef, UNRWA, the World Food Program and the WHO, as well as several others.

"We are witnessing acts of war in Gaza that show an utter disregard for human life," the leaders write.

They add: "With the tightened Israeli blockade on Gaza now in its second month, we appeal to world leaders to act – firmly, urgently and decisively – to ensure the basic principles of international humanitarian law are upheld.

"Protect civilians. Facilitate aid. Release hostages. Renew a ceasefire."

Image source, epa

Earlier, we reported that France's President Emmanuel Macron called Trump, alongside King Abdullah II, of Jordan, and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. We can now bring you a few more details from that conversation.

The three leaders reportedly told Trump there was an urgent need to secure a ceasefire in order to resume delivery of humanitarian aid, which has been paused.

The leaders also called for the release of all hostages and detainees.

Abdullah, al-Sisi and Macron also discussed the ongoing peace efforts in Ukraine during the call with Trump.

We have not received a readout from the Trump administration on what was discussed during the call.

Former Israeli hostages who were released from captivity in Gaza have released a statement ahead of the Trump-Netanyahu meeting, calling on the leaders to make the release of the remaining hostages their "top priority".

The statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum comes after three survivors - Yair Horn, Aviva Siegel and Keith Siegel - travelled to the US.

"President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu—while 59 hostages remain in Gaza, we cannot begin to heal. While they are still there, we are still there with them," they say.

The statement goes on to praise Trump for his help "to make a historic deal possible once before", which saw Hamas release some hostages in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners.

We're expecting that Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu will broach the topic of the war in Gaza at their meeting today.

It's a topic that has already been the mind of the US president, as earlier today he spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron.

A statement from Macron's office says the two discussed the situation in Gaza, alongside the leaders of Jordan and Egypt.

We will bring you more on the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu in the Oval Office when we get some video of the meeting at about 14:00 local time (19:00 BST).

While we wait, here's a look at how the prime minister was greeted for his second White House visit since Trump took office again in January.

Netanyahu was last in Washington on 6 February.

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting the White House four days after Donald Trump shocked the global economy with his aggressive tariff announcement – which includes 17% on Israeli exports to America.

This meeting gives the Israeli prime minister a chance to make an in-person case that those tariffs should be lower.

Israel recently dropped its own tariffs on American imports, although that move did not prevent it from being targeted in the president’s new trade policy.

If Trump is willing to listen – and cut a deal with Israel - it could provide an early example of how, through concessions and personal appeals, a country could extricate itself from the ongoing American trade warfare.

If there’s some kind of big announcement, however, it won’t happen in a formal press conference. The one scheduled for this afternoon was cancelled by the White House – without explanation – about an hour before its scheduled start time. Instead, the two men will answer questions from the smaller press pool during their sit-down in the Oval Office.

The White House has said more than 50 world leaders have reached out to Trump in the past few days to engage in negotiations.

With just two days until the US tariffs go into effect, they are sure to be watching closely to see if anything concrete comes from today’s US-Israel talks – and what lessons they can learn from them.

We're now waiting to hear from Trump and Netanyahu.

The pair are expected to take a few questions from reporters in the Oval Office ahead of their bilateral meeting.

That will not take place live. Once we have a playback of their conversation in front of reporters, we'll bring you the latest on this page.

Image source, Getty Images

Netanyahu's motorcade has just arrived at the White House. Trump exited the White House and greeted him outside.

The prime minister and president shook hands and waved to press, before entering the White House for their meeting.

Just over an hour before Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu were due to deliver a joint news conference, we are hearing reports from multiple US news agencies that it is cancelled.

The meeting in the Oval Office will go ahead as expected, with the leaders expected to take press questions.

The BBC has not yet confirmed why the news conference has been cancelled.

We're still waiting for signs that Netanyahu and the Israeli delegation have arrived at the White House.

On our live feed, we can see that press are congregating near the entrance, with Marine sentries outside holding flags.

Imogen James
Live reporter

It's just past lunchtime here in rainy Washington DC, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to shortly arrive at the White House.

We'll be covering Netanyahu's visit here, so stick with us.

Netanyahu visited Hungary just before his trip to the US. While there, he delivered a video message from the tarmac in Budapest to preview his discussion with Trump.

He said that the discussion will focus on hostages, "achieving victory in Gaza", and tariffs.

He also noted that he was the first foreign leader to visit Trump after he took office, and is now the first leader to visit Washington since the imposition of global tariffs by the US leader.

Netanyahu said this was a testament to the "special personal link" that he has with Trump.

“There’s a long line of leaders who would’ve wanted to do this for their own economies,” he said.

Alice Cuddy
Senior international reporter

Warning: This post contains distressing content

Palestinian detainees released back to Gaza have told the BBC they were subjected to mistreatment and torture at the hands of Israeli military and prison staff, adding to reports of misconduct within Israel's barracks and jails.

We have conducted in-depth interviews with five released detainees, all of whom were arrested in Gaza.

The men were held under Israel's Unlawful Combatants Law, external, a measure by which people suspected of posing a security risk can be detained for an unspecified period without charge.

In the men's testimony:

• They each describe being stripped, blindfolded, cuffed and beaten
• Some also say they were given electric shocks, menaced by dogs, and denied access to medical care
• Some say they witnessed the deaths of other detainees
• One says he witnessed sexual abuse
• Another says he had his head dunked in chemicals and his back set on fire

The BBC sent a lengthy right of reply letter to the IDF. The IDF did not respond to any of the specific allegations, but said it "completely rejects accusations of systematic abuse of detainees".

• You can read the full story detailing the detainees' allegations

Image source, Getty Images

On Thursday, the US Senate overwhelmingly rejected a bid to block $8.8bn (£6.8bn) in arms sales to Israel over humanitarian concerns for Palestinians in Gaza.

At the beginning of March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a declaration to use emergency powers expediting the delivery of $4bn (£3.1bn) in military assistance to Israel.

"The Trump Administration will continue to use all available tools to fulfil America’s long-standing commitment to Israel’s security, including means to counter security threats", Rubio said.

The US is a key supplier of military assistance to Israel.