Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet soon with US President Donald Trump to discuss the situation in Gaza, including a possible permanent ceasefire.

Netanyahu, now in Washington, will meet Trump on Tuesday afternoon. US media say he is the first foreign leader to visit the president at the White House since the start of his second term.

They are expected to discuss shifting to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

The second stage of the deal is supposed to call for a permanent end to the fighting, with Hamas releasing all hostages and Israeli troops completely withdrawing from the Gaza Strip.

An opinion poll by an Israeli research institute last month shows 24 percent of the respondents in the country are against the second phase, while 52 percent support the plan.

Israel and Hamas are currently in a six-week ceasefire as the first phase.

Israel agreed to the ceasefire partly because of persuasion by the United States.

But Netanyahu is reportedly reluctant to end the fighting until his country totally destroys the Islamic group.