Netanyahu departs for Washington amid turmoil in the US, disputes at home
PM says he will thank Biden for 40 years of Israel support; strikes bipartisan tone on bilateral ties; some hostage families join trip, others wanted him to do a deal before flying

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed on Monday morning for Washington, where he will meet with US President Joe Biden and deliver a politically precarious speech before Congress at a time of great uncertainty following Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race and amid domestic pressure on Israel’s leaders to reach a deal with Hamas for the release of the hostages held in Gaza.
Before boarding the newly ready Wing of Zion state airplane at Ben Gurion Airport, Netanyahu publicly acknowledged the 81-year-old president’s decision to stand down and said he intended to meet with him and thank him for more than 40 years of friendship.
“This will be an opportunity to thank him for the things he did for Israel in the war and during his long and distinguished career in public service, as senator, vice president, and president,” Netanyahu said.
Striking a bipartisan tone, Netanyahu said he intended to reaffirm to the US that “regardless of who the American people choose as their next president, Israel remains its most indispensable and strongest ally in the Middle East.”
Appearing to set aside differences between himself and Biden, at least for the time being, Netanyahu stressed the importance of presenting a united front, more than nine months after the October 7 terror onslaught in southern Israel and amid the war in Gaza, where Israel is seeking to dismantle Hamas and return the hostages held by the terror group.
The visit to Washington will be “an opportunity to discuss with him how to advance in the critical months ahead the goals that are important for both our countries — achieving the release of all our hostages, defeating Hamas, confronting the terror axis of Iran, and ensuring that all of Israel’s citizens can return safely to their homes in the north and the south,” the premier said.

The war in Gaza, which was sparked by the deadly massacre committed by Hamas terrorists on October 7, in which they slaughtered some 1,200 people in Israel and seized 251 hostages, has tested Israel’s ties with its top ally.
The Biden administration has stood staunchly beside Israel, and the Democrat became the first US president to make a wartime visit to the country, less than two weeks after October 7.
But the relationship between the two senior politicians has appeared to grow increasingly strained as the result of disagreements over Israel’s campaign against Hamas, and chiefly the continued difficulties of getting humanitarian aid to civilians, the unverified high death toll reported by Hamas health authorities, and what the US says is Israel’s lack of postwar plans for the Strip. Similar concerns will likely persist if Americans elect a new Democratic president.
Biden earlier this year froze the delivery of high-payload bombs over fears they would be used in Israel’s incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which at the time sheltered more than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million.
The issue of weapons shipments turned into an extended spat, after Netanyahu issued a video statement slamming “inconceivable” “bottlenecks” that the US had created in the transfer of shipments of weapons, which the Biden administration responded to by saying it had no idea what Netanyahu was talking about.
Standing on the airport tarmac on Monday, however, Netanyahu stressed that “in this time of war and uncertainty, it is important that Israel’s enemies know that America and Israel stand together — today, tomorrow, and always.”
Netanyahu’s address to Congress on Wednesday — his fourth one as prime minister — has the potential to cause disarray on both sides of the ocean, amid ongoing efforts to bring about a ceasefire and hostage release deal and rising concerns of a new full-out front opening up with the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon or the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The risks only increased with Biden’s decision Sunday to drop out of the race for president, especially since the choice of a replacement Democratic nominee — and the potential next American leader — is still up in the air.
A person familiar with Biden’s schedule confirmed Sunday that the president will host Netanyahu at the White House. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, said the exact timing of the meeting has not been established because Biden is recovering from COVID-19.
Netanyahu is also expected to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris, who is seeking the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, as well as GOP nominee Donald Trump, although that meeting has yet to be confirmed.
The prime minister will be accompanied on his trip by freed hostages and family members of those still captive in Gaza, including some who have criticized the prime minister over the failures surrounding the October 7 terror onslaught but who believe their presence may pressure him into agreeing to a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Speaking to the press ahead of departure, Shelly Shem-Tov, whose son Omer Shem-Tov was abducted on October 7 from the Supernova music festival, said that she decided to accept the invitation from the prime minister at the last minute.
“For 290 days, I haven’t left the country’s borders, I’ve been waiting for the moment I get the phone call that Omer is on his way home. Nine months I’ve been waiting for him to be returned to me… This time I decided to take action,” she said of her decision to travel to Washington.
“I am flying to shout out my call and that of all the families of the hostages. It’s time to sign the deal to bring them home,” she added.
Also accompanying the prime minister was Noa Argamani, who was rescued by the IDF in a daring daylight operation in central Gaza last month, and her father Yaakov Argamani, Channel 12 reported.
The brother of Oron Shaul — whose body has been held by Hamas since he was killed during the 2014 Gaza War — was also in attendance.
Some relatives of hostages publicly rejected the offer to accompany Netanyahu, however, and accused him of prioritizing the chance to address Congress over their captive loved ones.
“This is not the time for trips,” Ayelet Levy Shachar, whose daughter Naama was abducted on October 7, told reporters. “Netanyahu, first a deal, then you can travel.”
Israel’s very own ‘Air Force One’
Netanyahu, his wife Sara and his delegation of aides, security, and press departed for Washington on the Wing of Zion, the first time the plane has been used to carry an Israeli leader.
The plane, a reconfigured and upgraded Boeing 767, was caught up in delays and political fighting for several years after it was commissioned in 2014 and was eventually approved for use toward the end of 2021, but remained in storage at the Nevatim Airbase until Netanyahu returned to office in December 2022.

While the craft was used officially for the first time last week to transport equipment and security personnel to Washington ahead of the trip, Monday’s flight provided the media with a first look inside Israel’s version of Air Force One.
The plane is divided into four sections — the prime minister’s personal area, and those for his senior aides, security and junior staff, and the press in the back.
There is wood paneling between sections, which are fitted with blue seats with white headrests.
The pilots are Air Force pilots, some of them in reserves and some in active service, and the flight attendants, mostly from Arkia, are permanently assigned to the plane.
Aboard Israel’s much-awaited answer to the US’s Air Force One is a conference room, an ad hoc surgery room, and open and classified communications networks that allow the prime minister to remain in touch with officials in Israel.
Outside, the Boeing 767-300 has a white belly, a gray stripe, and a blue top with a Star of David on the tail.