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 on Tuesday at noon,” said a statement from Netanyahu's office, which added that the Israeli leader will fly to the US on Monday.
Netanyahu is due to deliver a landmark speech to the US Congress on Wednesday as he fights off intense pressure to quickly scrap a Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas.
Netanyahu, Israel's oldest prime minister, will become the first foreign leader to address a joint meeting of the two chambers four times – moving ahead of Britain's Winston Churchill on three.
But analysts say the Gaza war since the October 7 Hamas attacks has created worrying tensions between Israel and the United States, its main military and diplomatic backer.
Washington fears a backlash from the increasing civilian toll in the Gaza Strip, while protests in Israel by families of hostages taken by Hamas are also causing headaches for Netanyahu.
Biden and some Israeli ministers say a deal negotiated through Qatari, Egyptian and American mediators is possible. A plan outlined in May proposed a six-week ceasefire when some Israeli hostages would be exchanged for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that negotiators were “inside the 10-yard line and driving towards the goal line.”
However, Hamas has accused Netanyahu of trying to block a deal and Blinken said he wants to “bring the deal across the finish line” when Netanyahu is in Washington.
An 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 military pressure can free the hostages and defeat Hamas.
“This double pressure is not delaying the agreement – it is moving forward,” Netanyahu told troops in Gaza on Thursday.
The October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report based on Israeli figures. Hamas militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still in Gaza, including 42 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 38,919 people in Gaza, including most civilians, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory.
Publicly, Biden has expressed strong support for Israel. But he expressed concern over an offensive against the southern city of Rafah in May and briefly suspended supplies of heavy bombs to Israel. Shipments of 2,000-pound bombs remain embargoed.
“Never before has the atmosphere been so charged,” said Steven Cook, Middle East foreign relations specialist.
“There are obviously tensions 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 has lost support among Democrats.
A Jewish senator, Democrat Brian Schatz of Hawaii, announced he would boycott Wednesday's speech, saying he would not listen to “political rhetoric that will do 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 for his Washington trip.
First, to show that he has not “undermined” Israel's relations with the United States.
Netanyahu will also “seek to shift the conversation away from the conflict in Gaza toward the threat posed by Iran and its proxies” to Israel and the United States, Cook added.
Much attention will be focused on whether Netanyahu meets 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, and the military relationship remains strong, officials said.
Washington's support could prove crucial as Israel faces mounting international criticism over the growing humanitarian toll from the nearly 300-day war.
International Criminal Court prosecutors in May asked judges to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Order authorization has 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 Palestinian territories illegal on July 19 and in February called on the country to prevent any acts of genocide in its Gaza offensive.
