Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Joe Biden in Washington on Tuesday, his office said on Sunday.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with US President Joe Biden will take place at noon on Tuesday,” said a statement released by Netanyahu's office, which added that the Israeli leader would fly to the United States on Monday.
Netanyahu is due to deliver a landmark speech to the US Congress on Wednesday as he fights intense pressure to quickly end a Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas.
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, will become the first foreign leader to address a joint session of the two chambers four times, surpassing Britain's Winston Churchill with three.
But analysts say the war in Gaza 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 over the growing number of civilians 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 Qatar, Egyptian and American mediators is possible. A plan outlined in May called for a six-week ceasefire, when some Israeli hostages would be exchanged for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that negotiators were “inside the 10-yard line and driving toward the goal line.”
However, Hamas has accused Netanyahu of trying to block a deal, and Blinken said he wants to “get the deal across the finish line” when Netanyahu is in Washington.
An expected meeting between Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden is yet to be confirmed.
Israel has stepped up its airstrikes on Gaza in recent weeks, and Netanyahu has insisted that only mounting military pressure can free the hostages and defeat Hamas.
“This double pressure does not delay the agreement, it advances it,” Netanyahu told troops in Gaza on Thursday.
The October 7 attack on Israel killed 1,195 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. Hamas militants also captured 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still in Gaza, including 42 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's campaign of revenge has killed at least 38,919 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data from the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory.
Publicly, Biden has expressed strong support for Israel. But he expressed concern about the offensive on the southern town of Rafah in May and temporarily suspended deliveries of heavy bombs to Israel. Shipments of 2,000-pound bombs remain embargoed.
“The atmosphere has never been so charged,” said Steven Cook, the Council on Foreign Relations' Middle East specialist.
“There is clearly tension in the relationship, particularly between the White House and the Israeli prime minister,” Cook said in a comment.
While US Republicans have pushed to invite Netanyahu to address Congress, he has lost the support of 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 said after being invited back to Congress that he would “present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us.”
Cook said Netanyahu has two goals for his trip to Washington.
First, to show that he did not “undermine” Israel's relations with the United States.
Netanyahu also “will work to shift the conversation away from the conflict in Gaza to the threat that Iran and its proxies pose” to Israel and the United States, Cook added.
Much attention will be focused on whether Netanyahu meets with Donald Trump or someone close to the Republican presidential nominee.
Despite the tensions, the United States has defended Israeli interests while taking a key role in mediation efforts, and the military relationship remains strong, according to officials.
Washington's support could prove crucial as Israel faces mounting international criticism over its mounting humanitarian toll from nearly 300 days of war.
In May, the International Criminal Court prosecutor asked judges to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. 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 ruled 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.
