Israel's Netanyahu in Washington for high-stakes visit as death toll in Gaza war nears 40,000

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived Monday for a scheduled visit to Washington, one day after President Biden announced he would not be running for a second term and amid Israel's ongoing war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Ahead of his departure, Netanyahu said Israel would remain a key ally of the U.S. in the Middle East no matter who becomes the next president.

"In this time of war and uncertainty, it's important that Israel's enemies know that America and Israel stand together today, tomorrow, and always," Netanyahu said in a statement.

The Israeli leader is due to address both houses of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, as well as speaking privately with Mr. Biden in a meeting tentatively scheduled for mid- to late week, depending on the president's recovery from a COVID-19 infection that was announced by the White House on Wednesday.

"This will be an opportunity to thank him for the things he did for Israel in the war and during his long and distinguished career in public service, as Senator, as Vice President, and as President," Netanyahu said. "It will also be an opportunity to discuss with him how to advance in the critical months ahead the goals that are important for both our countries: Achieving the release of all our hostages, defeating Hamas, confronting the terror axis of Iran and its proxies, and ensuring that all Israel citizens return safely to their homes in the north and in the south."

Netanyahu met soon after arriving in Washington with family members of some of the roughly 80 hostages still believed to be alive and captive in Gaza. 

"We are determined to bring them all back," the Israeli leader said. "The conditions to bring them back are undoubtedly ripening, for the simple reason that we are putting very, very strong pressure on Hamas and we are seeing a certain change, and I think this change will grow and we intend to do it, this is a war goal."

Netanyahu's visit comes after months of growing tension with Washington over how Israel has conducted its offensive in Gaza after Hamas' unprecedented Oct. 7 terrorist attack. 

He is expected to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris during his visit this week.

His invitation to to address a joint meeting of Congress was organized by the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives, who accuse Mr. Biden of not showing enough support for Israel amid its war with Hamas. About 1,200 people were killed in Israel during Hamas' attack, and some 240 others were taken hostage.

New protests against U.S. support for Israel's offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians according to health officials in the Hamas-run territory, were expected in Washington on Wednesday, the day of Netanyahu's address to Congress. 

His visit comes on the heels of a Friday opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in The Hague that found Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories to be illegal.

Netanyahu faces growing U.S. pressure to make a deal that would see the remaining Israeli hostages being held in Gaza released in exchange for a halt in the fighting. There have also been regular protests in Israel demanding a hostage deal.

"Part of the goal [of the trip] is to try to show that with all that's been said, with all the protests, Netanyahu is still the leader, still has support, he still has strong relations with America," Yonatan Freeman, an international relations specialist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told the Reuters news agency.

On Monday, the Israeli military ordered Palestinians in Gaza to evacuate from parts of an area that had been designated a humanitarian zone, warning of increased military operations due to "precise intelligence indicating that Hamas has embedded terrorist infrastructure in the area defined as the Humanitarian Area."

The announcement was followed by intense bombardment in areas around the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said at least 49 people were killed in the strikes, including women and children, and almost 190 others wounded.

In:
• Israel
• Joe Biden
• Gaza Strip
• Benjamin Neta​nyahu

Haley Ott

Haley Ott is the CBS News Digital international reporter, based in the CBS News London bureau.

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