In fiery speech to Congress, Netanyahu seeks support for war in Gaza, sparking large protests

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks before Congress on Wednesday in hopes of bolstering U.S. support for continuing Israel’s offensives against Hamas and other adversaries.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded U.S.-Israeli unity and praised President Joe Biden in a fiery speech to Congress Wednesday that sparked boycotts by some top Democrats and drew thousands of protesters to the Capitol to condemn the war in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis it has created.

Nine months into the war in Gaza, Netanyahu sought to bolster U.S. 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. He lambasted American protesters of the war as “useful idiots” of Iran.

Freed former hostages of Hamas and families of hostages listened in the House chamber as Netanyahu spoke. Lawmakers of both parties rose repeatedly to applaud the Israeli leader, while security escorted out protesters in the gallery who rose to display T-shirts with slogans demanding that leaders close a deal for a cease-fire and the release of all 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.

With criticism against him rising in Israel, too, Netanyahu also aims 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 U.S. 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 cease-fire.