Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu to meet Biden, Harris

Militant group Hamas as well as the Iranian Foreign Ministry have condemned an address by Israeli prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the US Congress.

Late on Wednesday, Hamas accused Netanyahu of misleading the public over efforts to secure a hostage release deal.

"Netanyahu's talk about intensified efforts to return the hostages is a complete lie and misleading Israeli, American and international public opinion, while he is the one who thwarted all efforts aimed at ending the war and concluding a deal to release the prisoners, despite the continuous efforts of mediators from our brothers in Egypt and Qatar," the Palestinian group said in a statement.

Hamas is classified as a terror group by the US, the EU, Germany and others.

On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani denounced Congress for welcoming and applauding Netanyahu.

"The criminal prime minister of a fake regime is embraced by his supporters after nine months of genocide and infanticide," he said.

In his address on Wednesday, Netanyahu called for an alliance against what he called an Iranian "axis of terror." He claimed Iran was behind almost all sectarian violence in the Middle East.

Australia has sanctioned Israeli settlers and a youth group accused of "beatings, sexual assault and torture" of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced financial sanctions and travel bans against seven individuals and the Hilltop Youth religious settler group. 

The move follows similar measures by the European Union and the United States.

"The individuals sanctioned today have been involved in violent attacks on Palestinians," Wong said. "This includes beatings, sexual assault and torture of Palestinians resulting in serious injury and in some cases, death."

Since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022 at the helm of a strongly pro-settler coalition, settlement expansion has increased sharply.

Occupied by Israel since 1967, the West Bank has seen a significant spike in violence since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Palestinian authorities say at least 589 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli troops or settlers since the outbreak of the war on October 7. At least 17 Israelis, including soldiers, have also been killed in the same period of time in attacks involving Palestinians in the territory, Israeli officials say.

US President Joe Biden was due to meet Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Thursday after the Israeli Prime Minister delivered a combative speech to Congress the day before. 

Tensions between the two are present, with Biden's administration urging Israel to do more to provide further aid to Gaza and to protect civilians there.

The health system in the Palestinian territory has been decimated, with widespread malnutrition and a risk of famine in some areas. 

The meeting comes after Netanyahu's heated speech on Wednesday, in which he called for the United States and Israel to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in confronting Iran.

Netanyahu is set to hold talks with Biden in the Oval Office before both meet the families of US hostages held in Gaza.

The Israeli leader is also set to meet the Democratic Party's presumed presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Thursday, before meeting Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Friday.

The visit is Netanyahu's first to Washington since the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7 — and the first in nearly four years.

Israel's military says soldiers have retrieved the bodies of five Israelis kept in the Gaza Strip after they were killed in Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel.

The five had been previously announced dead, with the military and the Israeli Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group saying that they were killed on the day of the attack.

The Israeli army said the bodies were recovered in southern Gaza on Wednesday and taken back to Israel.

Four of the deceased were soldiers who were killed fighting militants who had crossed the border into Israel on October 7, 2023, the military said. The other was a 56-year-old woman who had been living in a kibbutz near the border with the Palestinian territory. The military said she was "murdered" after she was taken hostage during the attacks.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas took some 251 people hostage during the October 7 terror attacks. Some were released, but some 111 remain in Gaza, including around 40 who are believed to be dead.

Some 1,200 were also killed during the attacks, which triggered the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. Health officials in the Hamas-run enclave say over 39,000 Palestinians have been killed.

rc/rmt (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)