The relatives of the hostages held in Gaza had hoped for the announcement of a deal with Hamas. In vain. They were immediately met with harsh criticism. But Netanyahu is sticking to his course.
Shortly before meeting with US President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dashed hopes for an early ceasefire in Gaza with a speech to the US Congress that was accompanied by protests. Relatives of eight American-Israeli hostages criticized the appearance as “political theater,” Israeli media reported. Netanyahu rejected criticism of the actions in Gaza, to applause, especially from Republicans.
“He has failed to present new solutions or a new path forward,” the American officials said in a statement. “Most importantly, he has failed to commit to the hostage deal that is now on the table, despite calls from Israel’s senior defense and intelligence officials to do so,” they were quoted as saying. Shortly before Netanyahu’s speech, his office confirmed that he had canceled the departure of Israeli negotiators to Qatar for the indirect negotiations scheduled for today.
This was “by far the worst performance by a foreign dignitary” who had the privilege of addressing the US Congress, wrote former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Platform X. The Islamist Hamas accused Netanyahu of lying. “Netanyahu’s talk of intensifying efforts to return the hostages is a blatant lie and misleads the Israeli, American and international public,” Hamas said in a statement.
In his speech, Netanyahu did not announce an agreement on a ceasefire in return for the release of the hostages, contrary to the hopes of relatives of the 120 hostages still remaining in the Gaza Strip. The departure of an Israeli delegation for the indirect negotiations in Qatar is also not expected until next week, confirmed an Israeli representative. The exact date is still unclear.
The US government is nevertheless once again optimistic and sees the negotiations in the “final phase”. “It is time to reach an agreement,” said a high-ranking US government official. There has been progress and it is assumed that the differences can be overcome. “There are some things that we need from the Israeli side, no question about it,” he said. But there are also “some important things” that are only in the hands of Hamas. He assumes that there will be a lot of movement next week.
“I will continue to work to end the war in Gaza, bring all hostages home, and bring peace and security to the Middle East,” said US President Biden. His relationship with Netanyahu is strained because of his conduct of the war. Netanyahu is accused by critics of dragging out the war for his own political gain. He governs in a coalition with ultra-religious and far-right parties that reject concessions to Hamas and threaten to blow up the government.
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers recovered the bodies of at least three more hostages during an operation in the Gaza Strip, according to media reports. The Jerusalem Post reported that one of them was a 56-year-old resident of a kibbutz on the edge of the sealed-off Gaza Strip. While relatives learned of more dead hostages, Netanyahu was continuing “his PR tour of the USA” and “continuing to put the brakes on,” the Times of Israel quoted the mother of one of the hostages still being held by Hamas as saying.
Netanyahu’s speech was accompanied by loud protests around the parliament building in Washington. Part of the crowd became violent, the Capitol Police said. There were reports of several arrests. At a pro-Palestinian rally, the US government was called upon to stop military aid to Israel. Israel was accused of a “genocide” in the Gaza Strip, in which Biden, Harris and the top US parliamentarians were involved, it was said. Netanyahu was called a war criminal.
