Netanyahu expected to meet Biden during US visit in July

US President Joe Biden is expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington later this month during a visit to the United States to address Congress, a White House official said.

Netanyahu is scheduled to deliver a speech to a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate on July 24 on Israel’s war on Gaza, which enters its tenth month this week.

American Network CNNwhich initially reported Netanyahu’s visit, noted that details of his meeting with Biden at the White House had not been finalized.

Although the United States has staunchly supported Israel throughout its war on Gaza, there appear to be some differences in views between the two leaders.

It would be Netanyahu’s first trip abroad since the start of the Gaza war on October 7, which has left more than 37,900 people dead, most of them women and children.

It would also be his first meeting with Biden since the US president visited Tel Aviv days after the war began – although his secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has held regular meetings with the Israeli leader.

Several Biden advisers have sharply criticized Netanyahu, and many Democrats plan to boycott the Israeli prime minister’s speech to Congress.

Biden has been at odds with Netanyahu over some elements of Israel’s conduct in Gaza while facing pressure within his party over Washington’s continued military support for Tel Aviv despite the devastation in Gaza.

The 81-year-old US president is seeking re-election in November.

Netanyahu recently criticized the Biden administration for blocking arms shipments that Israel considers crucial to defeating Hamas, a move that reportedly angered officials in Washington.

More than 38,000 people have been killed in Israel’s relentless air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, most of them women and children, and swathes of the besieged enclave have been reduced to rubble.