President Milei postpones scheduled trip to Israel

President Javier Milei has cancelled his upcoming trip to Israel amid tensions both at home and in the Middle East, the government has confirmed.

Milei, 54, made the decision after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu broke off a fragile ceasefire agreement with Palestinian militant group Hamas to launch a new offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Israel renewed ground operations and issued what it called a "last warning" to residents of the Palestinian territory to return its hostages and remove Hamas from power. 

Israeli forces this week conducted the deadliest wave of airstrikes since the start of a truce in January, killing hundreds of people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

Milei’s decision, however, is also related to “domestic issues,” Israeli media reported. 

Markets are restless, awaiting final details of the government’s new agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and protests against austerity are on the rise, as evidenced by recent pensioner protests outside Congress.

According to reports, Milei remained keen, but ultimately decided to pull the trip on Wednesday. Later that morning, Presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni made it official with a brief message on social media.

Milei’s agenda for the visit included a meeting with Netanyahu and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to boost the commitment to the struggle against terrorism.

He was also due to address the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, and receive an award from the Genesis Prize Foundation that locals dub the “Jewish Nobel Prize.”

In what officials briefed was a coincidence of the calendar, Milei hosted Israeli Ambassador Eyal Sela and the president of Yad Vashem and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) for 2025, Dani Dayan, at the Casa Rosada on Wednesday. 

"Excellent meeting in the Casa Rosada with President Milei. In a year when Israel will hand over the IHRA presidency to Argentina, I have promised the President all the necessary assistance," said Dayan after the meeting, adding: "Milei expressed his regrets over having to postpone his visit to Israel."

Milei also held a meeting with Rabbi Yoni Ganger.

– TIMES/NA/PERFIL