Benjamin Netanyahu

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and the House Republican leadership meet with reporters as lawmakers work to pass the final set of spending bills to avoid a partial government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker Johnson says he plans to invite Netanyahu to address the US Congress

House Speaker Mike Johnson says he plans to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress, a show of support from Republicans amid growing Democratic criticism of Netanyahu’s leadership.

Palestinians look at a residential building destroyed in an Israeli strike in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, March 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

Why Israel is so determined to launch an offensive in Rafah

This combination photo shows President Joe Biden, left, on March 8, 2024, in Wallingford, Pa., and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 28, 2023. Biden and Netanyahu spoke Monday, March 18, in their first interaction in more than a month as the divide has grown between allies over food crisis in Gaza, conduct of war. (AP Photo)

Netanyahu agrees to send Israeli officials to Washington to discuss prospective Rafah operation

An Israeli soldier on top a tank on the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Sunday, Sunday, March 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Netanyahu snaps back against growing US criticism after being accused of losing his way on Gaza

In this image from video provided by Senate TV, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks on the Senate floor at the Capitol in Washington, March 14, 2024. Schumer is calling on Israel to hold new elections. Schumer says he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has "lost his way" amid the Israeli bombardment of Gaza and a growing humanitarian crisis there. Schumer is the first Jewish majority leader in the Senate and the highest-ranking Jewish official in the U.S. (Senate TV via AP)

Schumer’s rebuke of Netanyahu shows the long, fragile line the US and allies walk on interference

Qatar ‘cautiously optimistic’ about progress of Gaza cease-fire talks, AP Explains

A top Qatari official said on Tuesday that his country remains “cautiously optimistic” about the possibility of reaching a cease-fire agreement between Hamas and Israel, stressing that an Israeli ground operation in Rafah would set back any talks. (Mar. 19)

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EU’s top diplomat Borrell accuses israel of using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza

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President Joe Biden meets with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, March 15, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Biden backs Schumer after senator calls for new elections in Israel

President Joe Biden is expressing support for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer after the senator called for new elections in Israel.

In this image from video provided by Senate TV, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks on the Senate floor at the Capitol in Washington, March 14, 2024. Schumer is calling on Israel to hold new elections. Schumer says he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has "lost his way" amid the Israeli bombardment of Gaza and a growing humanitarian crisis there. Schumer is the first Jewish majority leader in the Senate and the highest-ranking Jewish official in the U.S. (Senate TV via AP)

Top Democrat Schumer calls for new elections in Israel, saying Netanyahu is an obstacle to peace

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling on Israel to hold new elections. He says he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “lost his way” and is an obstacle to peace in the region amid a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

FILE - President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign rally March 9, 2024, in Atlanta. Biden has stepped up public pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, but despite his increasing public frustration, Israeli officials and Middle East analysts don't see signs that Biden can push Israel to fundamentally alter how it's prosecuting the conflict. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Biden cajoles Netanyahu with tough talk, humanitarian concerns but Israeli PM remains dug in

President Joe Biden has stepped up public pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, warning he’s “hurting Israel” and speaking candidly about “come to Jesus” conversations with the leader over the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign rally Saturday, March 9, 2024, at Pullman Yards in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Biden says Netanyahu is ‘hurting Israel’ by not preventing more civilian deaths in Gaza

President Joe Biden says he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel” in how he is approaching its war against Hamas in Gaza.

President Joe Biden shakes hands after delivering the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Washington. (Shawn Thew/Pool via AP)

Biden in a hot mic moment shows his growing frustration with Netanyahu over Gaza humanitarian crisis

The comments came as Biden spoke with Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado on the floor of the House following his Thursday night State of the Union address.

Israeli troops move near the Gaza Strip border in southern Israel, Monday, March 4, 2024. The army is battling Palestinian militants across Gaza in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)

Hostage crisis poses dilemma for Israel and offers a path to victory for Hamas

Over five months, Israel has killed thousands of Hamas fighters, destroyed dozens of their tunnels and wreaked unprecedented destruction on the Gaza Strip.

FILE - Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, speaks during a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart Nikos Panagiotopoulos, at the Greek Ministry of Defence, in Athens, Greece, on Nov. 18, 2022. Benny Gantz, who is in Washington this week for meetings with U.S. leaders, is a crucial member of Israel’s War Cabinet. He is also the top political rival to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Gantz is a centrist politician who joined Netanyahu’s ultranationalist and religious government soon after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas, File)

Netanyahu leaned on his top rival to help unify Israel. Now, Benny Gantz is more popular

Benny Gantz, who is in Washington this week for meetings with U.S. leaders, is a crucial member of Israel’s War Cabinet.

Former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, second right, meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

Vice President Harris hosts Israeli war Cabinet member as the US pushes to get more aid into Gaza

Vice President Kamala Harris has held a meeting with a member of Israel’s wartime Cabinet who came to Washington in defiance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, March 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Rival of Netanyahu visits US, signaling wider cracks in Israel’s wartime leadership

An Israeli official says a top Cabinet minister’s trip to Washington has angered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It comes as talks aimed at brokering a Gaza cease-fire are underway in Egypt.

Palestinians wait for humanitarian aid on a beachfront in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Essa)

Netanyahu says a cease-fire deal would only delay ‘somewhat’ an Israeli military offensive in Rafah

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says an Israeli military offensive in the southernmost city of Rafah could be “delayed somewhat” if a deal for a weekslong cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is reached.

Police use water cannons to disperse demonstrators during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, and calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israeli officials to meet on a proposed pause in Gaza while the Cabinet is set to OK a Rafah plan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says officials will meet on the next steps after the latest talks with the United States, Egypt and Qatar in search of a deal on pausing the fighting in Gaza.

Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip are brought to Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Netanyahu seeks open-ended control over security and civilian affairs in Gaza in new postwar plan

Israel seeks open-ended control over security and civilian affairs in the Gaza Strip, according to a long-awaited postwar plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Palestinians chant Islamic slogans while carry the bodies of children killed in the Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip in front of the morgue at Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

More than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel-Hamas war, Gaza Health Ministry says

More than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the five-month Israel-Hamas war. The Gaza Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory said Monday that 107 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours, which brings the total to 29,092 dead since the start of the war.

FILE - Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, arrives for a German and Brazil governments meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. Israel on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024, condemned Brazil's president for comparing the situation in Gaza to the Holocaust, accusing him of being antisemitic and trivializing the Naza genocide of European Jews during World War II. The outcry further strained relations between the countries, which have deteriorated since President Lula returned to office last year. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

Israel’s Netanyahu slams Brazilian president’s comparison of Gaza war to the Holocaust

Israel has condemned Brazil’s president for comparing the war in Gaza to the Holocaust, accusing him of being antisemitic and trivializing the Nazi genocide of European Jews during World War II.

A woman walks between dead bodies of Palestinians killed in the Israeli bombardments of the Gaza Strip, in front of the morgue at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Israel vows to ‘finish the job’ in Gaza as War Cabinet member threatens a Ramadan deadline for Rafah

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is brushing off growing calls to halt the military offensive in Gaza and vowing to “finish the job.”

Israeli helicopter flies over Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman)

Israeli forces storm the main hospital in southern Gaza, saying hostages were likely held there

Israeli forces have stormed the main hospital in southern Gaza in what the army says is a search for the remains of hostages taken by Hamas.

Palestinians fleeing the Israeli offensive on Khan Younis arrive at Rafah, Gaza Strip. Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

Gaza cease-fire and hostage release talks appear to stall as Netanyahu and Hamas trade blame

International efforts to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas have suffered a setback as Israel reportedly recalled its negotiating team.

A Palestinian morns a relative killed in the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Israeli strikes hit Rafah after Biden warns Netanyahu to have ‘credible’ plan to protect civilians

A series of Israeli strikes has hit Rafah, the city on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip where 1.4 million Palestinians have fled to escape fighting elsewhere in the four-month Israel-Hamas war.

A Palestinian salvages belongings after an Israeli strike in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Feb.10, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Gaza mediators and others warn Israel of disaster if it launches a ground invasion on crowded Rafah

Israel’s neighbors and key mediators are warning of disaster and repercussions if its military launches a ground invasion in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah.

President Joe Biden speaks in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

White House downplays Biden, national security aide’s blunt comments on Israel

The White House is downplaying sharp criticism from President Joe Biden and a senior national security official over Israel’s war against Hamas.

Palestinian women react after their home was hit by an Israeli strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Israel seeks to evacuate Palestinians jammed into a southern Gaza city ahead of an expected invasion

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has ordered the military to prepare a plan for the evacuation of the population of the southern Gaza city of Rafah ahead of an expected ground invasion.

Palestinian women react after their home was hit by an Israeli strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Strikes kill 13 in Gaza as Biden describes Israel’s military response as ‘over the top’

Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 13 people in Rafah after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas’ cease-fire terms and vowed to expand the offensive into the southern Gaza town.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief Gadi Eisenkot, right, and former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

Blinken ends latest Mideast mission after new Israeli snub of proposed Gaza cease-fire plan

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has left the Middle East with public divisions between the United States and Israel at perhaps their worst level since Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began in October.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas shake hands during their meeting in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

Live updates | Netanyahu rejects Hamas truce plan after his meeting with top US diplomat

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a plan put forward by Hamas for a multi-stage truce and hostage release plan that would have effectively left the Palestinian militant group in power.

Palestinians gather around a Hamas police vehicle after it was struck by an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

Blinken says a Hamas-Israel deal is still possible even though the sides remain far apart

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says a cease-fire and hostage-release agreement between Israel and Hamas is still possible, despite the two sides being far apart on the central terms for a deal.

An Israeli soldier takes up position on the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024. U.S. and Mideast mediators appeared optimistic in recent days that they are closing in on a deal for a two-month cease-fire in Gaza and the release of over 100 hostages held by Hamas. But on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the militant group's two main demands — that Israel withdraw its forces from Gaza and release thousands of Palestinian prisoners — indicating that the gap between the two sides remains wide. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Where the sides stand on securing a cease-fire in Gaza and freeing the hostages

U.S. and Mideast mediators appeared optimistic in recent days that they are nearing a deal for a two-month cease-fire in Gaza and the release of over 100 hostages held by Hamas.

Palestinians look at a mosque destrooyed in an Israeli strike in Rafah, Gaza Strip. Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

Qatar, a key mediator in sensitive Israel-Hamas talks, lashes out at Netanyahu over critical remarks

Qatar says it’s appalled by leaked remarks made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he criticized the country’s mediation efforts with Hamas.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres speaks on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, at United Nations Headquarters. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)

UN chief warns that Israel’s rejection of a two-state solution threatens global peace

The United Nations chief is warning Israel that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyau’s rejection of a two-state solution will indefinitely prolong a conflict that is threatening global peace and emboldening extremists everywhere.

FILE - Protesters attempt to block a street during a demonstration to demand the release of the hostages taken by Hamas militants into the Gaza Strip during the Oct. 7th attack, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Jan. 20, 2024. After the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, Israelis put aside their differences and rallied behind the war effort in Gaza. But as the war grinds on, the mood of the Israeli public is shifting and old divisions are reemerging. The catalyst is a rift over the polarizing leadership of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a growing frustration with his management of the war. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)

Rifts within Israel resurface as war in Gaza drags on. Some want elections now

After the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, Israelis put aside their differences and rallied behind the war effort in Gaza.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Najeeb al-Maliki, left, speaks with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell during a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. European Union Foreign Affairs Ministers meet in Brussels on Monday to discuss the situation in the Middle East and in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, Pool)

EU pushes for Palestinian statehood, rejecting Israeli leader’s insistence that it’s off the table

European Union foreign ministers say the creation of a Palestinian state is the only credible way to achieve peace in the Middle East.