Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a vigorous defense of Israel’s actions in Gaza in an address to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday.
While and after he spoke, thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested outside the Capitol and down the street at Union Station, some demanding the arrest of Netanyahu, who has been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
A number of Democrats are boycotting the speech, which comes at the invitation of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), as anger boils over Netanyahu’s refusal to end the war and inability to secure the release of hostages taken during Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.
However, nearly everyone in attendance stood for an ovation as Netanyahu entered the House chamber — with a couple notable exceptions.
Follow along for live updates.
Netanyahu stirs firestorm inside, outside Capitol
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a fiery speech to Congress on Wednesday that elicited a boycott by Democrats inside the Capitol, sparked massive protests outside, and elevated the partisan fight over Israeli-Palestinian relations that promises to continue straight into November’s elections.
Appearing before a rare joint meeting of Congress, Netanyahu recounted in violent detail the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7; warned of the ongoing menace posed by Iran and other regional adversaries; and urged American policymakers to unite behind Israel for the sake of eradicating those threats once and for all.
“For the forces of civilization to triumph, America and Israel must stand together,” he said, thanking President Biden for “half a century of friendship to Israel.”
Pelosi trashes Netanyahu’s speech
Pelosi didn’t attend Netanyahu’s address in Congress on Wednesday afternoon, but clearly heard it or heard about it.
8 arrested in protests
DC Metro Police report that eight arrests were made on Wednesday. Five were earlier in the day, and three occurred during a protest outside Union Station.
— Yash Roy
Pro-Palestinian protests fill Columbus Circle
Republicans crowd around Netanyahu after speech
Lots of Republicans are going up to Netanyahu to shake his hands and take a photo after the speech.
Musk, who came as a guest of Netanyahu’s, also stayed after the speech shaking hands with other guests in the gallery.
— Mychael Schnell and Sarakshi Rai
Five arrested in House gallery
U.S Capitol Police arrested five people in the House gallery for disrupting Netanyahu’s speech.
Capitol Police posted on X that all five “were immediately removed from the Gallery and arrested.”
— Yash Roy
Netanyahu wraps up, shy of an hour
Netanyahu’s speech lasted about 53 minutes.
Netanyahu calls for ‘demilitarized and deradicalized’ Gaza in day-after plan
Netanyahu described a “day after” vision for the Gaza Strip in which a civilian administration by Palestinians should run a “demilitarized and deradicalized” territory after the defeat of Hamas, but said Israel must retain security control for the foreseeable future.
Netanyahu did not address the civilian administration of Gaza laying the groundwork to a Palestinian state, a policy supported by the U.S.
“A new Gaza can emerge, my vision for that day is of a demilitarized and deradicalized Gaza, Israel does not seek to resettle Gaza, but for the foreseeable future must maintain overriding security control to make sure that Gaza never poses a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu said.
— Laura Kelly
Netanyahu thanks Trump for efforts at Mideast peace
Netanyahu thanked former President Trump for forging the Abraham Accords in 2020, which saw Israel establish relations with United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
He also thanked Trump for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and noted that the former president survived a recent assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally on July 13.
“Israelis were relieved that President Trump emerged safe and sound from that dastardly attack,” he said.
— Brad Dress
Tlaib draws senator’s criticism
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) criticized Tlaib after she held up a sign at Netanyahu, calling him a “war criminal.”
“Rashida Tlaib continues to be an absolute disgrace,” posted on X.
Netanyahu calls on US to fast-track aid
Netanyahu said it was important for the U.S. to begin “fast-tracking” military aid, invoking Winston Churchill in World War II.
“As Israel fights on the frontline of civilization, I too appeal to America: give us the tools faster, and we’ll finish the job faster,” he said.
Netanyahu has accused the Biden administration of slow-rolling weapons to his country. The White House says they are only holding up 2,000-pound bombs.
— Brad Dress
Watergate Hotel ‘sanitized’ after vandalism
At the Watergate Hotel, where social media videos claimed protesters unleashed maggots and other pests to disrupt Netanyahu’s stay on Tuesday, the situation has been cleared, according to a statement provided to The Hill:
“We are aware of the social media video circulating on multiple platforms involving The Watergate Hotel and the unfortunate incident that occurred at the property yesterday. Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our guests and staff. We took the necessary steps to ensure the property has been sanitized and is now operating as normal. We are cooperating fully with authorities, who are handling the situation. As this is an open case, we are unable to provide any further details at this time.”
Netanyahu doesn’t rule out military solution to Hezbollah
Netanyahu said he seeks a diplomatic solution to the crisis in the north, where Hezbollah fighters have attacked Israeli forces since Oct. 8 from Lebanon, but did not rule out military action.
“Israel will do whatever it must do to restore security to our northern border,” he said.
Fears have grown in the past few months that Israel and Hezbollah are headed toward a major war.
— Brad Dress
Isreali soldiers ‘should be commended’
Netanyahu defended Israeli troops fighting in Gaza, claiming that the war is the lowest death toll in modern urban warfare.
“The heroic soldiers of Israel should not be condemned for how they conducted the war in Gaza, they should be commended for it,” he said.
Nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, mostly civilians.
— Brad Dress
Nadler lightly applauds after Rafah remarks
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) stands and lightly applauds when Netanyahu says IDF should be commended for limiting Palestinian civilian casualties and following Netanyahu’s remarks criticizing the ICC.
Netanyahu boasted that Israel had defied warnings about the civilian toll of military operations in Rafah.
— Laura Kelly
Tlaib’s puts her sign down
Tlaib just put her “war criminal” and “guilty of genocide” sign away.
It comes after a staffer — unclear with who — approached her twice.
— Mychael Schnell
ICC charges are ‘complete fabrication’
Netanyahu says the International Criminal Court has accused him on charges that he called a “complete fabrication.”
Netanyahu blamed Hamas for stealing humanitarian aid, deflecting from criticism that Israel has blocked aid into the territory.
The ICC is seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with two top Hamas officials, over alleged war crimes committed related to the war in Gaza.
— Brad Dress
Police close Union Station metro
Police have closed Union Station metro.
A line of officers have formed around Union station preventing everyone who does not have a ticket for an Amtrak train from entering.
Police and commuters have gotten into angry confrontations near the metro entrance asking why they are being prevented from entering.
— Yash Roy
Tlaib holds up ‘war criminal’ sign
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) was spotted holding up a sign that says “war criminal.”
Some in the chamber booed Tlaib.
Netanyahu is speaking out against anti-Israel protesters.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) approached Tlaib while she was holding up the sign.
The other side of the sign said “Guilty of genocide.”
— Mychael Schnell
Netanyahu rips anti-Israel protesters
Netanyahu said anti-Israel protesters “stand with evil.”
“Many anti-Israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil,” he said. “They stand with Hamas.”
“They should be ashamed of themselves,” he added, later calling them “useful idiots” for Israel’s enemies.
Protesters have gathered across Capitol Hill to demonstrate against Netanyahu’s speech.
— Brad Dress
Netanyahu praises Isreali soldiers in audience
Netanyahu pointed to four soldiers in the chamber who fought for Israel and praised them as heroes.
“These are the soldiers of Israel, unbowed, undaunted, unafraid,” he said.
— Brad Dress
Netanyahu thanks Biden
Netanyahu thanked President Biden for his years of service and commitment to Israel.
“President Biden and I have known each other for over 40 years. I want to thank him for half a century of friendship to Israel and for being, as he says, a proud Zionist, actually, he says a proud Irish American Zionist.”
— Brad Dress
Musk sits with Netanyahu’s wife
Elon Musk is sitting in the chamber behind Sara Netanyahu and rescued hostage Noa Argamani.
Netanyahu recognizes freed hostage Noa Argomani
Netanyahu points to Noa Argamani, who was freed from Hamas captivity in a rescue mission along with three other Israelis conducted by the Israel Defense Forces.
Argamani, seated next to his wife, Sarah Netanyahu, reportedly told Netanyahu that when she heard over the radio that Netanyahu said the war against Hamas would take a long time, that this message “broke me”.
Lawmakers gave a standing ovation when Netanyahu talked about the successful hostage rescue mission. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) didn’t stand or clap.
— Laura Kelly and Mychael Schnell
Israel ‘will win’
Netanyahu began his speech with a warning that there was “upheaval in the Middle East” from Iran’s axis of proxies.
He vowed that Israel “will win” the conflict against Iranian-backed groups in the Middle East.
“America and Israel must stand together,” he said.
— Brad Dress
Some protesters peel off to pray
Some Muslim members of the protest peeled off the main protest for a daily Salah prayer on a quiet corner of Constitutional Avenue.
The day’s events are markedly interfaith. Earlier religious leaders spoke to protesters, condemning Israel’s actions in the war.
“There is no place in this land of the free and home of the brave for a war criminal to speak to the most powerful people in our nation,” Reverend Adriene Thorn of Riverside Church in New York told the crowd.
Most protesters have now marched to the front of the Capitol and are gathering in a park near Union station. A police line has prevented protestors from entering the Capitol’s grounds.
— Eden Teshome and Yash Roy
No handshake for Schumer and Netanyahu
Netanyahu walked by Schumer without shaking his hand. The two men nodded at each other. Schumer in March called for new elections in Israel and said Netanyahu had “lost his way.”
— Mychael Schnell
Hostage’s relative pleads for deal, via T-shirt
A family member of a hostage in Gaza was spotted in the chamber opening his jacket to reveal a shirt that said: “Seal the deal now.”
Family members of hostages have pushed Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to reach a deal and free the roughly 116 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.
— Brad Dress
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just entered the House chamber for his speech.
He received a standing ovation from most in the chamber.
Rep Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) who has been highly critical of the prime minister and Israel’s handing of the war in Gaza, remained seated. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) was seated, as well.
Netanyahu walked by Schumer without shaking his hand. The two men nodded at each other. Schumer in March called for new elections in Israel and said Netanyahu had “lost his way.”
— Mychael Schnell
Nadler spotted reading Netanyahu book on House floor
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) was spotted reading “The Netanyahu Years” by Ben Caspit on the House floor ahead of the Israeli PM’s highly anticipated joint address to Congress.
Nadler, who is a Netanyahu critic, called him “the worst leader in Jewish history” in a recent statement.
He added that “Prime Minister Netanyahu also ignored the warning signs that pointed to Hamas’ October 7th horrific attack, and championed the policies that led to Hamas’ increase in funds, power, and military capability.”
The Jewish lawmaker added that he is a “lifelong Zionist” but has not given up “on the dream of an Israel that can live in peace with its neighbors, including with Palestinians, through a negotiated two-state solution, and with additional Arab and Muslim-majority countries normalizing relations with Israel.”
— Sarakshi Rai