Israel's Netanyahu departs to address U.S. Congress, meet Biden

JERUSALEM, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed for Washington on Monday amid the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, saying he would seek to "anchor the bipartisan support" to Israel at the U.S. Congress.

Before embarking on the plane, he told reporters that he would make a speech before both houses of Congress, "at a time when Israel is fighting on seven fronts and when there's great political uncertainty in Washington."

He said that regardless of who the next president of the United States will be, "Israel remains America's indispensable and strong ally in the Middle East."

Netanyahu said he plans to meet U.S. President Joe Biden, who announced on Sunday that he is quitting the election race. Netanyahu said he would thank Biden for over 40 years of friendship and for "the things he did for Israel in the war," while asking him for more support for Israel's hardline stance on the negotiations for a ceasefire-hostage deal with Hamas and to defend Israel in case of possible attacks by Iran's allies in the Middle East.

"In this time of war and uncertainty, it's important that Israel's enemies know that America and Israel stand together today, tomorrow, and always," he said.

The visit comes amid growing criticism against Netanyahu at home over his failure to secure the release of about 120 hostages still being held in Gaza and the continuation of the war, which began on Oct. 7 last year.

On Sunday, thousands of families of hostages and supporters blocked several entries to Ben Gurion International Airport and rallied in Tel Aviv, calling on Netanyahu to accept the proposed deal and resign.