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's meeting with US President Joe Biden will take place at noon on Tuesday,” said a statement issued by Netanyahu's office, which added that the Israeli leader would fly to the United States on Monday.
Netanyahu is due to deliver a major speech to the US Congress on Wednesday as he fights intense pressure to quickly end the Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas.
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, will become the first foreign leader to address a joint session of both chambers four times – surpassing Britain's Winston Churchill with three.
But analysts say the war in Gaza since the October 7 attacks by Hamas has created worrying tensions between Israel and the United States, its main military and diplomatic backer.
Washington fears a backlash from the mounting number of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip, while protests by families of hostages taken by Hamas in Israel are also causing headaches for Netanyahu.
Biden and some Israeli ministers say a deal negotiated through Qatari, Egyptian and American mediators is possible. The plan, outlined in May, proposed a six-week truce in which some Israeli hostages would be exchanged for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that the negotiators were “inside the 10-yard line and driving towards the goal line”.
But Hamas has accused Netanyahu of trying to block the deal, and Blinken said he wants to “get the deal done” when Netanyahu is in Washington.
The expected meeting between Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden is still not confirmed.
Israel has stepped up its airstrikes on Gaza in recent weeks, and Netanyahu has insisted that only a buildup of 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 on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to AFP statistics based on Israeli figures. Hamas militants also took 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still in Gaza, including 42 Israeli soldiers who are dead.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 38,919 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory.
Publicly, Biden has expressed strong support for Israel. However, he expressed concern over the May offensive on the southern city of Rafah and temporarily suspended deliveries of heavy bombs to Israel. The embargo remains on shipments of 2,000-pound bombs.
“Never before has the atmosphere been so tense,” said Council on Foreign Relations Middle East specialist Steven Cook.
“There is clearly tension in the relationship, particularly between the White House and the Israeli prime minister,” Cook said in a statement.
While US Republicans pushed to invite Netanyahu to address Congress, he lost support among Democrats.
One Jewish senator, Democrat Brian Schatz of Hawaii, announced he would boycott Wednesday's speech, saying he would not listen to “political rhetoric that does nothing to bring peace to the region.”
Netanyahu, after being invited back to Congress, said he would “present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us.”
Cook said Netanyahu has two goals on his trip to Washington.
First, to show that he has not “undermined” Israel's relations with the United States.
Netanyahu will also “try to shift the conversation away from the conflict in Gaza and toward the threat that Iran and its proxies pose” to Israel and the United States, Cook added.
Much attention will be focused on whether Netanyahu will meet with Donald Trump or a figure close to the Republican presidential candidate.
Despite the tensions, the United States has defended Israeli interests while taking a key role in mediation efforts, and military ties remain strong, according to officials.
Washington's support could prove crucial as Israel faces mounting international criticism over mounting humanitarian losses from nearly 300 days of war.
An International Criminal Court prosecutor asked judges in May to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Arrest warrants were also sought for three Hamas leaders.
The Republican majority in the House of Representatives called for sanctions against the ICC.
The International Court of Justice found Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories illegal on July 19 and in February called on the country to prevent any genocide in its Gaza offensive.
