Israeli leader meets visiting US homeland security secretary

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with visiting U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Jerusalem on Sunday, his office said.

U.S. and Israeli media reported that President Donald Trump sent Noem to Jerusalem following the killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington last week.

Noem was accompanied at her meeting with Netanyahu by U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee, the prime minister's office said in a brief statement Sunday night.

The office added that during the meeting, Noem "expressed unwavering support for the Prime Minister and the state of Israel," as well as appreciation "for his conduct of the war" in Gaza.

The visit comes as Israel ramps up its campaign in the Palestinian territory in what it says is a renewed effort to destroy Hamas.

Earlier, Noem and Huckabee visited the city's Western Wall, where early celebrations for Monday's "Jerusalem Day" holiday were taking place.

The holiday commemorates what Israel considers Jerusalem's reunification under its authority after the city's eastern sector was captured by its forces in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

Netanyahu's office said he had also met with Democratic U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada earlier in the day.