Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Joe Biden in Washington on Tuesday, his office announced on Sunday.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden will meet on Tuesday afternoon,” said a statement issued by Netanyahu's office, adding that the Israeli leader will travel to the United States on Monday.
Facing intense pressure to immediately cut the Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas, Netanyahu will deliver a historic speech to the US Congress on Wednesday.
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, will become the first foreign leader to address a joint session of the two chambers four times – surpassing Britain's Winston Churchill with three.
But analysts say the Gaza war since the October 7 attack by Hamas has created worrying tensions between Israel and its main military and diplomatic backer, the United States.
Washington fears a backlash from the growing civilian toll in the Gaza Strip, while protests from families held hostage by Hamas in Israel are causing headaches for Netanyahu.
Biden and some Israeli ministers have said a deal negotiated through Qatar, Egypt and US mediators is possible. The plan, outlined in May, proposed a six-week truce during which some Israeli hostages would be exchanged for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Friday that the negotiators were “within the 10-yard line and driving toward the goal line.”
Hamas has accused Netanyahu of trying to block the deal, and Blinken said he wanted to “bring the deal to the finish line” while Netanyahu was in Washington.
The expected meeting between Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden has not yet been confirmed.
Israel has stepped up its air strikes on Gaza in recent weeks and Netanyahu has insisted that only military pressure can free the hostages and defeat Hamas.
“This double pressure is not delaying the agreement – it is advancing it,” Netanyahu told troops in Gaza on Thursday.
The Oct. 7 attack in Israel killed 1,195 people, most of them civilians, according to AFP figures based on Israeli statistics. Hamas fighters also took 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still in Gaza, 42 of whom the Israeli military claimed to have killed.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 38,919 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-ruled territory's health ministry.
Publicly, Biden has expressed strong support for Israel. But he expressed concern over the May attack on the southern city of Rafah and the temporary suspension of heavy bomb deliveries to Israel. The supply of 2,000 pound bombs is restricted.
“The environment has never been there before,” said Steven Cook, a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.
“There is an obvious strain in the relationship, especially between the White House and the Israeli prime minister,” Cook said in comments.
Although US Republicans pushed to invite Netanyahu to address Congress, he lost support among Democrats.
A Jewish senator, Democrat Brian Schatz of Hawaii, announced a boycott of Wednesday's speech, calling it “political rhetoric that does nothing to bring peace to the region.”
Netanyahu said after being invited back to Congress that “we will present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us.”
Cook said Netanyahu's visit to Washington had two purposes.
First, to demonstrate that he has not “weakened” Israel's relationship with the United States.
Netanyahu will “try to shift the conversation from the conflict in Gaza to the threat it poses to Israel and the United States”, Cook added.
Much attention will be focused on Netanyahu meeting with Donald Trump or a figure close to the Republican presidential nominee.
Despite the tensions, the United States has defended Israeli interests by playing a key role in mediation efforts, and military ties remain strong, according to officials.
Washington's support could prove crucial as Israel faces growing international criticism over the mounting humanitarian toll from the nearly 300-day war.
International Criminal Court prosecutors asked judges in May to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant. Warrants have also been requested for three Hamas leaders.
The Republican majority in the House of Representatives has called for sanctions against the ICC.
The International Court of Justice found Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories illegal on July 19 and called on the country to stop any acts of genocide in February's Gaza offensive.
