Biden, Harris meet with Netanyahu a day after Israeli leader's fiery speech to Congress

Washington — The Biden administration ratcheted up the pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept an elusive cease-fire deal with Hamas during his meetings at the White House Thursday. 

"We feel that we've got to get this hostage deal in place so we can get a cease-fire also in place," White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said during the White House press briefing as President Biden met with Netanyahu. 

Kirby said Mr. Biden would reaffirm to Netanyahu "that he believes we need to get there, and we need to get there soon." 
He said there are issues that still need to be resolved that will require compromise from both Israel and Hamas. 

"We are close, we just have to finish it," he said. 

In a statement, the White House said that in their meeting, Mr. Biden "expressed" to Netanyahu "the need to close the remaining gaps, finalize the deal as soon as possible, bring the hostages home, and reach a durable end to the war in Gaza."

The first phase of the deal includes a six-week cease-fire and the release of the most vulnerable hostages, according to Kirby. Vice President Kamala Harris said later that it also includes the Israeli military withdrawing from population centers in Gaza. During the second phase, she said, the Israeli military would completely withdraw from Gaza. 

Netanyahu's meetings come a day after he urged Congress in an address to both the House and Senate to continue to stand with Israel in the war against Hamas. 

It's Mr. Biden's first with a foreign leader since he exited the race for the presidency Sunday and threw his support to Harris for the Democratic nomination. 

Harris met separately with Netanyahu later Thursday. She described the meeting as "frank and constructive." 

"I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, 'It is time to get this deal done,'" she said. 

Harris said she also expressed to Netanyahu her "serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza." 

"What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating," she said. "The images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time. We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent." 

The vice president did not attend Netanyahu's speech, citing previously scheduled travel. She was in Texas Thursday morning, addressing the American Federation of Teachers. A number of Democrats in Congress declined to attend Netanyahu's congressional address, a gesture of disapproval toward Netanyahu's handling of the Israel-Hamas war. 

As Netanyahu spoke, pro-Palestinian protesters swarmed Union Station near the Capitol. Protesters removed the American flags that fly over Union Station, replacing them with Palestinian flags. 

In his address to Congress, Netanyahu attacked pro-Palestinian protesters in the U.S., calling them "Iran's useful idiots." 

"Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming, 'Gays for Gaza,'" Netanyahu said. "They might as well hold up signs saying, 'Chickens for KFC.' These protesters chant, 'From the river to the sea,' but many don't have a clue what river and what sea they're talking about." 

Responding to the "useful idiots" remark, Kirby said it's "not a phrase we would use."

Netanyahu also said the U.S. had told Israel that "Iran is funding and promoting anti-Israel protests in America." Earlier this month, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said Iranian government officials posed as activists online to encourage protests and provide financial support to protesters. The agency added that American protesters were expressing their views on the war "in good faith" and the "intelligence does not indicate otherwise." 

"To paint everybody with that brush is unfortunate and not an accurate reflection," Kirby said. "Most of the protest activity here in the United States is peaceful. The vast majority of it is organic. It comes from people who have real concerns." 

Netanyahu also included several misleading characterizations of the Israeli military's conduct during the war in Gaza. He criticized accusations brought forth by the International Criminal Court, claiming, "If there are Palestinians in Gaza who aren't getting enough food, it's not because Israel is blocking it, it's because Hamas is stealing it."

There are few documented accounts of Hamas commandeering aid deliveries for its own use — one temporary diversion on May 1 was acknowledged by the State Department. But numerous Western governments, non-governmental organizations and aid groups have cited Israel for preventing sufficient humanitarian aid from getting into Gaza. 

A report commissioned by the White House that scrutinized whether Israel, among other countries, was abiding by international humanitarian law, found that, "During the period since October 7, and particularly in the initial months, Israel did not fully cooperate with [U.S. government] efforts and [U.S. government]-supported international efforts to maximize humanitarian assistance flow to and distribution within Gaza."

The report later added that the overall level of aid reaching Palestinian civilians remained "insufficient, but noted that Israel was not "prohibiting or otherwise restricting" the delivery of aid. 

Netanyahu is facing growing backlash at home over his handling of the war with Hamas. The families of hostages held in Gaza have been calling on Netanyahu to make a deal to bring back their loved ones. There have been daily protests in Jerusalem, and a group of top former Israeli security and political officials also sent a blistering letter to U.S. congressional leaders this week, accusing Netanyahu of prioritizing his own political survival over that of the hostages, Israel's security, as well as the region.

Mr. Biden and Netanyahu were also expected to discuss the conflict between Lebanon and Israel, the need for stability in the West Bank and countering Iran and its proxy groups, Kirby said. 

The two leaders met with the families of Americans held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. Administration officials regularly meet with this particular group of families, a senior administration official told reporters. 

It was the first time Mr. Biden and Netanyahu saw each other in person since the president visited Israel in October in the wake of Hamas' attack on Israel.