Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. Republican senators on Wednesday that Israel will continue its efforts to defeat the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, senators told reporters after he addressed a party lunch.\u201cHe\u2019s going to do what he said he\u2019s going to do. He\u2019s going to finish it,\u201d Senator Jim Risch said.The conservative Israeli leader spoke to Republicans via videolink nearly a week after the Senate\u2019s Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, gave a Senate speech branding Netanyahu an obstacle to peace and urging new elections in Israel.Wednesday\u2019s meeting underscored the politicization of Washington\u2019s Israel policy. Netanyahu has long been aligned with Republicans, who accuse Schumer of seeking to overthrow the Israeli leader.\u201cWe asked \u2026 him for an update and we got it on the war, on the release of the hostages and in the efforts to defeat Hamas. We told him Israel has every right to defend themselves and he said that\u2019s exactly what they continue to do,\u201d Senator John Barrasso said.Earlier on Wednesday, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, told reporters he was thinking of inviting Netanyahu to address Congress, although such invitations to foreign leaders would normally be extended by both Johnson and Schumer as Senate majority leader.Democrats have been grappling with party divisions over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza in a warthat began with an Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas fighters who killed 1,200 people and captured 253, according to Israeli tallies.A spokesperson for Schumer said that Netanyahu had offered to speak to the Democrats as well, but Schumer declined, saying that the conversations should not be partisan.\u201cI care deeply about Israel and its long-term future. When you make the issue partisan, you hurt the cause of helping Israel,\u201d Schumer told reporters.Progressives have called on President Joe Biden, a Democrat, to put more pressure on Israel to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Hamas-ruled Gaza, where health authorities say nearly 32,000 Palestinians have been killed.Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Netanyahu had addressed civilian casualties and the need to get more aid into Gaza. He said Netanyahu was \u201cvery supportive\u201d of plans to build a temporary pier and bring in aid by sea.\u201cHe\u2019s very sensitive to the fact that every civilian casualty is a very unfortunate event,\u201d Risch said.Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Netanyahu had made a presentation and then taken questions from senators.\u201cI made it clear to him, that it\u2019s not the business of the United States to be giving a democratic ally advice about when to have an election or what kind of military campaign they may be conducting,\u201d McConnell told reporters.(Reuters)Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister, U.S. Republican senators, defeating Hamas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed U.S. Republican senators that Israel will continue its efforts to defeat Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This statement was made during a videolink address to the senators. The meeting highlighted the political nature of U.S.-Israel policy, with Netanyahu having a long-standing alignment with Republicans. The Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, considered inviting Netanyahu to address Congress. The conflict in question began with an attack by Hamas on October 7, resulting in 1,200 deaths and 253 captives according to Israeli counts. Schumer, the Senate’s Democratic majority leader, declined an offer for Netanyahu to speak to Democrats, emphasizing a non-partisan approach to supporting Israel. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has led to nearly 32,000 Palestinian deaths. Netanyahu discussed civilian casualties and supported plans to deliver aid to Gaza via a temporary pier. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell emphasized that the U.S. should not advise a democratic ally on election timing or military campaigns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1521,122,383,492,186,1221,1240,2811,1600,2112,153,145,895,298,210,1025,1235,964,299,2809,1671,756,1346,1193,493,1802,462,1237,1670,1792,1354,1022,1005,1827,1239,618,114,2810,544,173,293,18],"class_list":["post-4921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-1521","tag-aid","tag-attack","tag-biden","tag-business","tag-campaign","tag-clear","tag-defeating-hamas","tag-election","tag-election-timing","tag-elections","tag-gaza","tag-gaza-strip","tag-hamas","tag-health","tag-hostages","tag-humanitarian","tag-humanitarian-crisis","tag-israel","tag-israeli-prime-minister","tag-israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-joe-biden","tag-meeting","tag-nature","tag-netanyahu","tag-new-elections","tag-palestinians","tag-pier","tag-president-joe-biden","tag-prime-minister","tag-release","tag-republican","tag-republicans","tag-statement","tag-temporary-pier","tag-top","tag-top-news","tag-u-s-republican-senators","tag-united-states","tag-usa","tag-war","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n