WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Israel’s war in Gaza and condemned American protesters in a scathing speech to Congress Wednesday that triggered boycotts by many top Democratic lawmakers and drew thousands to the Capitol to condemn the war and the humanitarian crisis it has created.
Netanyahu vowed to press on with the war until “total victory,” disappointing hopes by some that the Israeli leader’s visit to the United States could bring some breakthrough in negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage-release.
Speaking to applause from US lawmakers, and stony silence from others, Netanyahu sought to bolster US support for his country’s fight against Hamas and other Iran-backed armed groups.
“America and Israel must stand together. When we stand together something really simple happens: We win, they lose,” said Netanyahu, who wore a yellow pin expressing solidarity with the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
But the Israeli leader soon pivoted to a darker tone as he derided those protesting the war on college campuses and elsewhere in the US, gesturing to demonstrations happening on the streets outside the Capitol. He called protesters “useful idiots” for Israel’s adversaries.
He drew shouts of applause from many in Congress, but also silence from leading Democrats who declined to stand and cheer.
Freed former hostages of Hamas and families of hostages listened in the House chamber. Lawmakers of both parties rose to applaud the Israeli leader in milder moments in the speech. Security escorted out protesters in the gallery who rose to display T-shirts with slogans demanding that leaders close a deal ending the conflict and freeing hostages.
Netanyahu accused the numerous protesters of the war in the United States of standing with the militants who he said killed babies in Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7. “These protesters that stand with them, they should be ashamed of themselves,” he said.
Netanyahu — who is frequently accused of wading into US politics in favor of conservative and Republican causes — started his remarks with praise of President Joe Biden. But he turned to lavishing praise on former president and current presidential contender Donald Trump “for all he’s done for Israel.”
With criticism against him rising in Israel, too, Netanyahu aimed to portray himself as a statesman respected by Israel’s most important ally. That task is complicated by Americans’ increasingly divided views on Israel and the war, which has emerged as a key issue in the US presidential election.
Tall steel barriers ringed the Capitol Wednesday, and police deployed pepper spray as thousands of protesters rallied near the Capitol, denouncing Netanyahu as a “war criminal” and calling for a ceasefire.
Netanyahu received a warm welcome from House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republican lawmakers who arranged his speech in the House chamber. Netanyahu received a bipartisan standing ovation before speaking.
The appearance made Netanyahu the first foreign leader to address a joint meeting of Congress four times, surpassing Winston Churchill.
More than 50 Democrats and political independent Bernie Sanders boycotted Netanyahu’s speech. The most notable absence was right behind him: Vice President Kamala Harris, who serves as president of the Senate, said a long-scheduled trip kept her from attending.
The next Democrat in line, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, declined to attend, so Sen. Ben Cardin, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, served as “senator pro tempore” in place of her.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat who has family in the West Bank, sat in the House chamber with a keffiyeh, which she often wears, wrapped over her shoulders. Tlaib was censured last year for her strident criticism of Israel’s conduct in the war.
Republicans said the absence of Harris, the new Democratic front-runner for the presidency, was a sign of disloyalty to an ally. Former President Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, was also a no-show for Netanyahu’s speech, citing the need to campaign.
Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden and Harris on Thursday, and with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
Many in the swelling crowds of demonstrators protested the killings of more than 39,000 Palestinians in the war. Others condemned Netanyahu’s inability to free Israeli and American hostages taken by Hamas and other militants during the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.
Support for Israel has long carried political weight in US politics. But the usual warm welcome for Netanyahu’s visits has been diminished this time around by political turmoil, including the assassination attempt against Trump and Biden’s decision not to seek another term.
Many Democrats who support Israel but have been critical of Netanyahu saw the address as a Republican effort to cast itself as the party most loyal.
Many Democrats attended the address despite their criticism of Netanyahu, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who called for new elections in Israel in a March floor speech. Schumer, of New York, said then that Netanyahu has “lost his way” and is an obstacle to peace in the region amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
About 60 lawmakers met Wednesday with relatives of those taken hostage by Hamas, and they expressed anger toward Netanyahu. “Because by coming here, he risks making himself the issue, turning the humanitarian issue of the hostages into a political one,” Maya Roman, who had several family members taken hostage, told the lawmakers.
The United States is Israel’s most important ally, arms supplier and source of military aid. Netanyahu’s visit is his first abroad since the war started, and comes under the shadow of arrest warrants sought against him by the International Criminal Court over alleged Israel war crimes against Palestinians. The United States does not recognize the ICC.
The Biden administration says it wants to see Netanyahu focus his visit on helping it complete a deal for a ceasefire and hostage-release. Growing numbers of Israelis accuse Netanyahu of prolonging the war in order to avoid a likely fall from power whenever the conflict ends.
Netanyahu has said his aims for the US visit are to press for freeing hostages held by Hamas and other militants in Gaza, to build support for continuing Israel’s battle against the group, and to argue for continuing to confront Hezbollah in Lebanon and other Iranian-allied groups in the region.
Some Democrats are wary about Netanyahu since he used a 2015 joint address to Congress to denounce then-President Barack Obama’s pending nuclear deal with Iran.
Netanyahu used an appearance early Wednesday to focus on Iran, its nuclear program and its network of armed allies. Iran is “behind the entire axis of terror” that threatens the US and Israel, he said, speaking at a memorial for former Sen. Joe Lieberman.
In Congress speech, Netanyahu defends war in Gaza and denounces protesters
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In Congress speech, Netanyahu defends war in Gaza and denounces protesters
- Netanyahu’s speech quickly took on a darker tone as he defended his country but also derided those protesting the war
- He drew shouts of applause from many in Congress, but also silence from leading Democrats
Young Libyans gear up for their first ever election
In Misrata, Libya’s third-largest city, walls are covered with campaign posters of the candidates hoping to be elected
MISRATA, Libya: Young Libyans have mobilized for Saturday’s municipal elections, the first time many will vote in the fractured North African country where polls have been rare since Muammar Qaddafi’s 2011 overthrow.
“Elections are a new concept here,” said Radouane Erfida, 21, from Misrata, as he and other volunteers eagerly gave out leaflets and engaged with potential voters ahead of polling day.
“To help people accept and understand the process, we need awareness campaigns,” he told AFP.
The vast, oil-rich country of seven million people has struggled to recover from years of conflict after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that put an end to four decades of rule under dictator Qaddafi.
Libya remains divided between a UN-recognized government based in the capital Tripoli and a rival administration in the east, backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
Although being held in fewer than half of the country’s municipalities — 58 out of 142 — it is the first election in a decade to be held simultaneously in both eastern and western Libya.
Nearly 190,000 people are registered to vote in the areas where polling will take place.
In Misrata, Libya’s third-largest city, walls are covered with campaign posters of the candidates hoping to be elected.
“Your voice builds your municipality,” reads one placard put up by the High National Election Commission, which staged its own campaign to encourage a high turnout.
For Mohammed Al-Moher, a 25-year-old volunteer, restoring hope in Libya’s democratic process is essential.
“We are trying, through these elections and those to come, to revive people’s dreams... and to ensure that they go to the polls again and choose candidates whose vision matches theirs,” he told AFP.
Libya held its first free and fair elections in 2012 following an uprising inspired by the Arab Spring, which saw the end of more than 40 years under Qaddafi.
After two elections considered to have been successful, parliamentary elections in June 2014 were marred by a very low turnout because of ongoing violence.
There have been several municipal elections between 2019 and 2021 in a handful of cities, including the western city of Tripoli.
Presidential and parliamentary elections that had aimed to unify the fractured country were scheduled for late 2021 but then postponed indefinitely.
The Tripoli-based administration is headed by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, while in the east, parliament under the Haftar administration is based in Tobruk.
“We are tired of seeing old people monopolize politics. It’s time young people became involved in something other than the battlefield,” said Nouh Zagout, 29, a candidate in Misrata.
The country’s youth “have both the knowledge and the necessary ability to make a significant contribution to political life,” the pharmacist said.
But young Libyans who aspired to a seat at the table “are subject to a lot of criticism, particularly from their elders who judge them incapable of leading these institutions.”
Such attitudes, he said, are precisely what motivated him to stand for election.
Two Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders killed in Israel strike on Syria: source
- Abdel Aziz Minawi, a member of Islamic Jihad’s political bureau, and the group’s foreign relations chief Rasmi Abu Issa were killed in the strike on Qudsaya
- Israeli authorities, who rarely comment on individual strikes in Syria, claimed responsibility for the one on Thursday, saying they targeted Islamic JihaD
GAZA STRIP: Two senior Islamic Jihad figures were killed in an Israeli strike on Syria on Thursday, said a source from the Palestinian group which has fought against Israel in Gaza alongside Hamas.
The source told AFP on Saturday that Abdel Aziz Minawi, a member of Islamic Jihad’s political bureau, and the group’s foreign relations chief Rasmi Abu Issa were killed in the strike on Qudsaya, in the Damascus area.
The same source said the strike, targeting a building housing one of the group’s offices in Syria, also killed another Islamic Jihad member.
Israeli authorities, who rarely comment on individual strikes in Syria, claimed responsibility for the one on Thursday, saying they targeted Islamic Jihad.
Contacted by AFP on Saturday, Israel’s army however declined to comment on the two leaders’ deaths.
Israeli strikes on Thursday in and around Damascus killed 23 people, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, which has a network of sources inside Syria.
Thirteen people, including civilians and Iran-backed fighters, were killed in a strike on the upscale Damascus district of Mazzeh, the Observatory said, adding that an attack on the capital’s outskirts killed 10 Islamic Jihad militants.
Syrian state media said Israel struck the Mazzeh district again on Friday.
Attacks blamed on or claimed by Israel have intensified in Syria, including in areas near the Lebanese border, mainly targeting bastions of the Lebanese movement Hezbollah.
Islamic Jihad still holds several Israeli hostages taken during the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel. Earlier this week, the group released two video clips of Sasha Trupanov, a 29-year-old Russian-Israeli hostage.
Religious Jews comfort hostages’ families in Tel Aviv
- “(We came) to meet them, to listen to them, show them that we support them,” says Odelia Dimant, wearing the traditional head covering of religious Jewish women
- It is the 33-year-old’s first time coming to the square, where she listens attentively to a cousin of Omer Neutra, a young soldier captured on October 7, 2023
TEL AVIV: Singing together in harmony, hundreds of religious Jews gather in a Tel Aviv square to listen to the devastated families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza for 13 months.
The paved area, now known as “Hostage Square,” welcomes the families of the captives — most taken from secular kibbutzim — for emotional gatherings every Saturday evening where they issue a rallying cry for their loved ones’ freedom: “A deal now!“
On Tuesdays, religious Jews attend to provide solace to the families.
“(We came) to meet them, to listen to them, show them that we support them,” says Odelia Dimant, wearing the traditional head covering of religious Jewish women.
It is the 33-year-old’s first time coming to the square, where she listens attentively to a cousin of Omer Neutra, a young soldier captured on October 7, 2023.
The crowd this Tuesday is mainly made up of women on the anniversary of Jewish matriarch Rachel’s death in the Hebrew calendar.
According to Jewish tradition, Rachel, who died in childbirth and was buried in Bethlehem, wept as she awaited the return of the exiled Jews.
In front of an attentive assembly, popular Orthodox speaker Yemima Mizrachi drew a parallel between Rachel’s tears and those of the hostages’ mothers.
Before the crowd gathers in front of the stage to listen to performers and sing along, the hostages’ families and religious Jews form small talking circles.
During Hamas’s October 7 attack, militants took 251 hostages back to the Gaza Strip. Of those, 97 are still held there, including 34 who have been confirmed dead.
The past 400 days have been agonizing for the families.
Ever since a truce deal allowed the release of more than 100 hostages in November 2023, negotiations aimed at securing another have been at a standstill, with hopes for more releases further dimmed after key interlocutor Qatar suspended its mediation between Israel and Hamas.
A collective formed on October 8, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, launched the regular gatherings at the esplanade of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, later renamed Hostage Square by the city council.
“The idea behind these gatherings is unity, and it’s the path that I chose, that of dialogue, not shouting but sharing what I have been going through for more than a year,” says Galia David, whose 22-year-old son Evyatar David was kidnapped at the Nova music festival. More than 40 people were taken hostage at the same event.
The unity at Hostage Square moves her deeply, she says.
“The fact that they come here with different ideologies shows that they are here to listen to us, help us, support us.”
Between the stands selling yellow ribbons — a symbol of solidarity with the hostages — visitors take photos, including in front of a giant clock that counts the number of days, hours, minutes and seconds that have passed since October 7.
For Ditza Or, a religious woman and the mother of Israeli hostage Avinathan Or, the nights are “special.”
“I am moved to see this support,” she says. “Tonight is about unity and prayer. I feel people’s support all the time. I see so much love... The unity is real.”
The evening’s highlight is a prayer for the hostages’ release, recited by Shelly Shem Tov, whose son Omer is being held captive, and Shlomit Kalmanson, a woman in a head covering who lost her husband Elchanan during the fighting at Kibbutz Beeri on October 7.
Elchanan grabbed his weapon on that fateful day and, with his brother and nephew, went to the secular kibbutz close to Gaza to try and defend the civilians there.
They saved more than 100 people’s lives, but Elchanan did not survive.
“Shlomit and I are different, in our appearance, in our places of residence, certainly in our votes, but we have in common love and the ability to see the good,” Shem Tov said told the crowd, unable to hold back her tears, her hand on her friend’s shoulder.
“Our hearts are linked, each with her suffering, but beyond this suffering, we share hope.”
Israeli troops reach deepest point in Lebanon since October 1 invasion
- Media reports: Israeli ground forces pull back early Saturday after fierce battles with Hezbollah fighters
- Israeli troops earlier captured a strategic hill in the southern Lebanese village of Chamaa
BEIRUT: Israeli ground forces reached their deepest point in Lebanon since they invaded six weeks ago, before pulling back early Saturday after fierce battles with Hezbollah militants, Lebanese state media reported.
Israeli troops captured a strategic hill in the southern Lebanese village of Chamaa, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Israeli border early Saturday, the state-run National News Agency reported. It said Israeli troops were later pushed back from the hill.
It added that Israeli troops detonated the Shrine of Shimon the Prophet in Chamaa as well as several homes before they withdrew, but the claim could not be immediately verified.
Israel’s military said in a statement that its troops “continue their limited, localized, and targeted operational activity in southern Lebanon.” The military did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Lebanese media reports.
The push on the ground came as Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs as well as several other areas in southern Lebanon including the port city of Tyre.
The morning strike in Beirut hit an area known as Dahiyeh, which the Israeli military called a Hezbollah stronghold, saying its planes had hit multiple sites used by the militant group. Residents were given advance warning by Israel, and it was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties.
The increase of violence came as Lebanese and Hezbollah officials are studying a draft proposal presented by the US earlier this week on ending the war.
Since late September, Israel dramatically escalated its bombardment of Lebanon, vowing to cripple Hezbollah and end its barrages in Israel. More than 3,400 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli fire – 80 percent of them in the eight weeks – according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
On Friday, Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister apparently urged Iran to try and convince Hezbollah to agree to a ceasefire deal with Israel, which would require the group to pull back from the Israel-Lebanon border. The proposal is based on UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the last Israel-Hezbollah war in the summer of 2006.
A copy of the draft proposal was handed over earlier this week by the US ambassador to Lebanon to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has been negotiating on behalf of Hezbollah, according to a Lebanese official. The official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the secret talks said Berri is expected to give Lebanon’s response on Monday.
Another Lebanese politician said Hezbollah officials had received the draft, were studying it and would express their opinion on it to Berri. The politician also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media about the ongoing talks.
Berri told the pan-Arab Asharq Al-Awsat daily newspaper that the draft does not include any item that allows Israel to act in Lebanon if the deal is violated.
“We will not accept any infringement of our sovereignty,” Berri was quoted as saying.
He added that one of the items mentioned in the draft that Lebanon does not accept is the proposal to form a committee to supervise the agreement that includes members from Western countries.
Berri added that talks are ongoing regarding this point as well as other details in the draft, adding that “the atmosphere is positive but all relies on how things will end.”
There is also a push to end the war between Israel and Hamas, which began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and abducting 250 others.
The UN Security Council’s 10 elected members on Thursday circulated a draft resolution demanding “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza.
The US, Israel’s closest ally, holds the key to whether the UN Security Council adopts the resolution. The four other permanent members – Russia, China, Britain and France – are expected to support it or abstain.
Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives since the initial Hamas attack have killed more than 43,000 people in Gaza, Palestinian health officials say. The officials don’t distinguish between civilians and combatants but say more than half of those killed have been women and children.
Lebanon state media reports strike on Tyre city in south
- Israeli strikes kill at least two medics in south Lebanon, ministry
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s state news agency reported a strike on Saturday on the southern city of Tyre, in a neighborhood near historical ruins listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.
“The raid on Tyre targeted the ‘ruins district’, resulting in the destruction of two buildings and damage to other surrounding buildings,” the official National News Agency said, referring to a neighborhood near Tyre’s ancient hippodrome.
Since Tuesday, Israel has carried out several strikes on the Beirut’s southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah.
Israeli strikes on villages in south Lebanon killed at least two medics early on Saturday, the Lebanese health ministry said.
Airstrikes killed a medic in the town of Borj Rahal in the Tyre District, south of Lebanon, and strikes on an emergency response team in the southern town of Kfartebnit killed one medic and injured four others while two medics were missing.
AFPTV video showed three plumes of smoke rising over the buildings in the south on Saturday morning.
Shortly before the attack, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X a call for residents of the Haret Hreik suburb to evacuate.
“You are close to facilities and interests belonging to Hezbollah, against which the Israeli military will be acting with force in the near future,” the post said in Arabic, identifying specific buildings and telling residents to move at least 500 meters away.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) said “the enemy” carried out three air raids, including one near Haret Hreik.
“The first strike near Haret Hreik destroyed buildings and caused damage in the area,” it said.
Repeated Israeli air strikes on south Beirut have led to a mass exodus of civilians from the area, although some return during the day to check on their homes and businesses.
In southern Lebanon, Israel carried out several strikes on Friday night and early Saturday, according to NNA.
Overnight, Hezbollah also claimed two rocket attacks targeting the headquarters of an infantry battalion in northern Israel.
Since September 23, Israel has ramped up its air campaign in Lebanon, later sending in ground troops following almost a year of limited, cross-border exchanges begun by Hezbollah over the Gaza war.
Lebanese authorities say that more than 3,440 people have been killed since October last year, when Hezbollah and Israel began trading fire.
The conflict has cost Lebanon more than $5 billion in economic losses, with actual structural damage amounting to billions more, the World Bank said on Thursday.
