Netanyahu defends war as protesters rally outside US Congress

Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu told US lawmakers “our enemies are your enemies” in a landmark speech to Congress intended to rally support for the war against Hamas in Gaza, but marked by pro-Palestinian protests inside and outside the Capitol.

“When we fight Iran, we’re fighting the most radical and murderous enemy of the United States of America,” Mr Netanyahu said.

“Our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory,” he added.

The Israeli leader received a raucous reception from mostly Republican politicians as he delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress, his fourth.

But growing political divisions over the war in Gaza were underscored by the dozens of Democratic members of Congress deliberately not present and thousands of protesters on the streets outside.

Crowds gathered by a stage on Capitol Hill decked with banners, including one declaring the Israeli leader a “wanted war criminal,” a reference to an arrest warrant sought by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

Five people were arrested inside the Capitol building for attempting to disrupt Mr Netanyahu’s address, according to police.

Addressing the protesters, Mr Netanyahu said: “You have officially become Iran’s useful idiots.”

In one of many references to Iran, the Israeli prime minister claimed an “axis of terror” threatened the US, Israel and the Arab world, framing it as a “clash of barbarism against civilisations”.

The term riffed off what Iran describes as the “axis of resistance,” an alliance across the Middle East including the Palestinian armed group Hamas, the Lebanese group Hezbollah and the Houthis, who rule parts of Yemen.

He told Congress that Iranian proxy forces had attacked American targets, adding that Iran believes that “to truly challenge America it must first conquer the Middle East”.

“But in the heart of the Middle East, standing in Iran’s way, is one proud pro-American democracy: my country, the state of Israel.”

Speaking for over an hour, Mr Netanyahu deflected criticism of Israel and framed the war in Gaza as his country’s battle for survival, in a pitch for further US military aid.

He thanked the US for providing Israel with “generous military assistance” for decades, adding that in return Israel had provided the US with critical intelligence that had “saved many lives”.

But he called for a process of “fast-tracking” US military aid, claiming this could expedite an end to the war in Gaza and help prevent a broader regional war.

Quoting British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s appeal to the American people during World War Two, he said: “Give us the tools and we’ll finish the job.”

Mr Netanyahu did not discuss the humanitarian crisis in Gaza at length, except to maintain that Israel delivers enough food aid to provide each person with 3,000 calories. If Gaza’s residents were not getting food, he said, it was because “Hamas steals it”.

Outlining his vision for the Gaza Strip after the war, he called for “a demilitarised and deradicalised” enclave under Israeli military control.

“Gaza should have a civilian administration run by Palestinians who do not seek to destroy Israel. That’s not too much to ask,” he said.

He made no reference to the prospect of an eventual two-state solution, something President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris – who is likely to replace him as the Democratic Party nominee – want.

Several standing ovations could not disguise the fact that at least 39 lawmakers were absent from the address.

Almost all were Democrats, among them influential former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who said it was “inappropriate” for Mr Netanyahu to visit.

Ms Harris was not in attendance, reportedly due to a scheduling clash.

Throughout the speech, Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American member of Congress, was seen holding a placard in the air, which read “guilty of genocide” and “war criminal”.

Conscious that Donald Trump could return to the White House, Benjamin Netanyahu also thanked the former president for moving the American embassy to Jerusalem and for recognising Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, a territory Israel captured from Syria in 1967.

The two men will meet in Florida later this week.

At home in Israel, families of hostages still held in Gaza gathered to condemn the speech as it was broadcast, silently, on to the central area known as Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.

After listening to the national anthem, the crowd dispersed as Mr Netanyahu continued his address on screen.

The audio was muted, but his English speech was shown with subtitles in Hebrew translation.

Shortly after the end of the speech, the Israeli army announced it had retrieved the bodies of two hostages, Maya Goren and Oren Goldin, from Gaza.

The news underscored the growing despair many hostage families feel towards the prospect of seeing their loved ones alive again, with months-long negotiations with Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage release deal still not having borne fruit.

The prime minister’s address to Congress came nine months into Israel’s campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 39,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.