Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday defended his country's conduct in the devastating Gaza war, urged the U.S. to support the fight against Hamas and ridiculed protesters during a scathing address to Congress.
But he also cited an unverified intelligence report and ignored much of the criticism in a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and devastated Gaza.
Crowds of demonstrators swelled outside the Capitol as the Israeli leader spoke, with many protesting the killings of more than 39,000 Palestinians in the war. Others condemned Netanyahu’s inability to free Israeli and American hostages taken by Hamas and other militants during the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the conflict.
Here's a look at the facts.
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CLAIM: “Israel has enabled more than 40,000 aid trucks to enter Gaza. That’s half a million tons of food. And that’s more than 3,000 calories for every man, woman and child in Gaza. 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.”
THE FACTS: Israel initially imposed a complete siege on Gaza in the early days of the war and, under U.S. pressure, gradually eased it to allow the entry of food and humanitarian supplies. While Israel says it allows hundreds of truckloads of goods to enter Gaza each day, the United Nations and aid groups say they are often unable to reach it or distribute it.
They say ongoing Israeli military operations and fighting with Hamas and lawlessness makes it too difficult to operate. U.N. officials say criminal gangs have targeted aid trucks. But a top U.S. envoy said Israel has presented no evidence for claims Hamas is stealing aid, adding that Israel’s killing of Gaza police commanders guarding truck convoys have made it nearly impossible to distribute goods.
International experts have repeatedly warned that Gaza faces widespread severe hunger and the territory is on the brink of famine.
In April, an Israeli airstrike killed seven aid workers in an incident that Israel said was caused by human error. This month, the head of the U.S. humanitarian agency USAID said she had received pledges from Israel to improve safety and coordination for aid workers.
CLAIM: “I have a message for these protesters: When the tyrants of Tehran who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair are praising, promoting and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots.”
THE FACTS: Netanyahu provided no evidence that Iran is “funding” protesters.
The top U.S. intelligence official said this month that the Iranian government is one of several covertly encouraging American protests over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza in a bid to stoke outrage ahead of the fall election.
Using social media platforms, groups linked to Tehran have posed as online activists, encouraged protests and provided financial support to some protest groups, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said in a statement.
“Iran is becoming increasingly aggressive in their foreign influence efforts, seeking to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions,” Haines said.
Iran isn't the only country seeking to influence American discourse ahead of the 2024 election. During a briefing with reporters this month, intelligence officials said America’s adversaries were looking to harness artificial intelligence to dramatically expand the reach and penetration of election misinformation.
Demonstrations over Israel’s offensives in Gaza emerged on university campuses across the U.S. in recent months. The protests quickly became a factor in political campaigns and prompted concerns about antisemitism and the role of “outside agitators ” as well as worries about a larger regional conflict between Israel and Iran.
CLAIM: “The ( International Criminal Court ) prosecutor accuses Israel of deliberately targeting civilians. What in God’s green earth is he talking about? The (Israeli military) has dropped millions of fliers, sent millions of text messages, made hundreds of thousands of phone calls to get Palestinian civilians out of harm’s way. But at the same time, Hamas does everything in its power to put Palestinian civilians in harm’s way. They fire rockets from schools, from hospitals, from mosques.”
THE FACTS: Deadly Israeli strikes on homes affect multiple members of families at a time on a nearly daily basis. Footage has shown soldiers shooting and killing Palestinians who were waving white flags or appeared to pose no threat to Israeli troops.
For most of the more than 37,000 airstrikes Israel says it has carried out during the war — along with often heavy shelling during ground operations — it is impossible to verify Israel’s claims that a Hamas target is present.
Even in strikes where the military has publicly identified Hamas members, it has been willing to inflict dozens of civilian casualties.
Israeli evacuation orders have sent more than 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians fleeing, often multiple times, to escape offensives in different parts of the territory. Israeli airstrikes and raids have repeatedly struck and caused civilian casualties inside the “humanitarian zone” where the military has told displaced Palestinians to take refuge.
WHAT NETANYAHU LEFT OUT:
The Israeli leader spoke of the bravery of soldiers on Oct. 7. But he did not delve into the massive intelligence and security blunders under his watch that allowed Hamas to breach Israel’s vaunted defenses that day. He didn’t discuss accusations that he believed Hamas was deterred when in fact it was preparing a major assault on Israel.
Also, Netanyahu boasted about the 135 hostages that have been freed, seven of them in rescue missions. But he left out that the vast majority of those hostages were freed during a brief cease-fire in late November, even though he has argued that military pressure on Hamas is the best way to free them.
Neither did he mention the fact that Israeli forces mistakenly killed three hostages in December. And roughly 120 hostages have languished in captivity for nearly 10 months. Of those, Israeli authorities believe a third are dead.
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in the rescue missions staged to free the hostages, the Health Ministry in Gaza says, which Netanyahu did not mention.
And he did not describe the catastrophe that has befallen Gaza since the outbreak of the war.
Of the more than 39,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza since the start of the war, about half are women and children, Gaza's Health Ministry says. About 1.8 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, many repeatedly in a bid to flee relentless bombing. Basic necessities like food, shelter and even diapers have either been scarce or lacking entirely. Clean drinking water is hard to find.
Netanyahu also said he was speaking on behalf of the people of Israel. It’s true that Israelis largely believe in the justness of the war. But support has grown for a cease-fire, including one that would end the war entirely.
In fact, public support for Netanyahu has plummeted since Oct. 7, with many blaming Netanyahu for the Hamas attacks. Thousands attend protests calling for him to resign. Critics say he is dragging out the war for political reasons, hoping to appease his far-right governing partners who oppose a cease-fire and to maintain his grip on power.
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Kellman reported from London. Associated Press writers Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Lee Keath in Cairo contributed to this report.
