White House calls Trump's meeting with Netanyahu 'positive'

US President Donald Trump held talks with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, with spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt describing it as "positive and productive".

Photos posted by Netanyahu's office on social media platform X showed the two leaders sitting beside each other in the Oval Office with wide smiles.

They were joined by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Trump met Netanyahu after first having brief closed-door talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Israeli and Ukrainian leaders were in Washington to attend a memorial service for Senator Lindsey Graham, a hawkish Republican who was an influential advocate for both Israel and Ukraine in Washington.

Both the Ukraine war and the widening Middle East conflict are at critical junctures. After the collapse of a ceasefire in the Iran war, Trump says he has paused US airstrikes to give diplomacy another chance. 

Sources familiar with the matter said Netanyahu aims to get Trump's support for his reelection campaign ahead of an October 27 vote. A meeting with Trump that showcases what has traditionally been ⁠a ​close relationship between the two leaders could help Netanyahu ​at home where he is struggling in the opinion polls.