Protesters descend on Capitol on eve of Netanyahu address to Congress
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. families of hostages held in Gaza that a deal to secure their release could be near, crediting pressure Israel’s military is putting on Hamas, his office said Tuesday.
Netanyahu met with the families after arriving in the U.S. on Monday. The group included the U.S. families and some hostage family members who accompanied him on the trip from Israel.
“The conditions for returning them are becoming ripe, for the simple reason that we are putting very strong pressure on Hamas,” Netanyahu told them, according to information released by his office. “We see a certain change, and I think that this change will increase.”
President Joe Biden will meet with families of the American hostages at the White House later this week, Reuters and other media reported, citing a U.S. official. It would be Biden’s second such meeting since Hamas attacked Israeli border communities Oct. 7, killing almost 1,200 people and seizing more than 200 hostages.
Netanyahu, who is scheduled to address Congress on Wednesday, will also meet with Biden and Vice President and presidential hopeful Kamala Harris.
Developments:
∎ After going back and forth on the scheduling, former President Donald Trump said in an online post he’ll meet with Netanyahu on Friday. The Times of Israel reported the location will be Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
∎ Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will preside over Netanyahu’s speech, Senate sources told Reuters. Harris, who would normally preside in her role as president of the Senate, will not be in Washington.
∎ The threat to international shipping from Yemen’s rebel Houthis is growing, U.N. Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday. The Iran-backed militants have been attacking ships in and around the Red Sea since November, claiming the attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Netanyahu visit draws protests, criticism
Thousands of demonstrators are expected to converge on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to protest against Netanyahu and the Gaza war.
Seven labor unions totaling millions of members sent a letter Tuesday to the White House demanding a truce in Gaza and for the U.S. to stop supplying weapons to Israel. The signatories included the United Auto Workers, based in Michigan, home to the biggest percentage and second largest number of Arab Americans in the country.
In addition, several aid groups and other organizations have partnered to launch a mobile billboard that will drive around Washington on Wednesday with the message: “No more bombs for Netanyahu.” Abby Maxman, U.S. CEO of the British-based anti-poverty agency Oxfam, called Netanyahu’s planned congressional address “wildly inappropriate.”
“His governing coalition continues to bombard Gaza, international condemnation is growing, Israelis are demanding that hostages be brought home, and, under his leadership, the Israeli military is bombing aid workers, schools and hospitals,” Maxman said in a statement.
Tuesday protest near Capitol a possible harbinger
In perhaps a preview of what’s in store Wednesday, a few hundred members of the group Jewish Voice for Peace wearing red T-shirts protested the war and demanded a cease-fire Tuesday in the rotunda of the Cannon House office building near the Capitol.
The demonstrators had large signs with messages such as “Jews to Congress: Stop Arming Israel” and “Let Gaza Live” as they sat in a circle, clapped and chanted.
Video images showed some of the protesters being detained by law enforcement, which Capitol Police confirmed in a posting on the X platform that said: “Demonstrations are not allowed inside the Congressional Buildings. We told the people, who legally entered, to stop or they would be arrested. They did not stop, so we are arresting them.”
Hamas, Fatah sign agreement
Palestinian factions led by Hamas and longtime political rival Fatah have signed a national unity agreement aimed at maintaining Palestinian control over Gaza after the war. Final details for an “interim national reconciliation government” were hammered out Tuesday in Beijing. More than a dozen groups signed off on the plan.
Fatah leads the Palestinian Authority presided by Mahmoud Abbas, which has administered the West Bank under Israeli occupation. Hamas has governed Gaza for almost two decades.
The Biden administration wants a revamped authority to run Gaza, and it has rejected the idea of Hamas playing a role unless the militant group recognizes Israel. Israel, which has repeatedly pledged to crush Hamas, was quick to criticize the agreement.
“Instead of rejecting terrorism, Mahmoud Abbas embraces the murderers and rapists of Hamas, revealing his true face,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on social media.
Israel pounds battered city of Khan Younis
Israel said it had unleashed tanks and fighter jets to combat Hamas militants regrouping in the Khan Younis area of the southern Gaza Strip. The announcement came hours after the Gaza Health Ministry said 70 Palestinians were killed and more than 200 wounded by Israeli fire on the city. Israel first targeted the city more than six months ago, and by spring claimed to have taken complete control. Israel previously has returned to Gaza City and other areas it had seized because of the apparent reestablishment of militant activity.
Despite the setbacks, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that Israel’s top security chiefs agree that if a truce and hostages-for-prisoners deal is reached with Hamas, the Israeli military could leave Gaza for the required six weeks without losing control of the enclave.
