WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged in a scathing speech to Congress on Wednesday to achieve ''total victory'' against Hamas and denounced American opponents of the war in Gaza as ''idiots,'' taking a combative stance in a visit the Biden administration has hoped will yield progress in negotiations to end the fighting.
Netanyahu used the high-profile address to a joint meeting of Congress to emphasize longstanding and close ties between the United States and Israel. But the speech put in sharp relief the divisions in American society stirred by the war, with dozens of Democratic lawmakers boycotting the address and thousands of protesters outside the Capitol condemning the war and the humanitarian crisis created by it.
Some of the protests near the Capitol turned chaotic. That included one within a few hundred yards of the tightly guarded Capitol grounds, at Union Station, where protesters spray-painted marble statuary and replaced American flags with Palestinian ones. Officers on streets surrounding the Capitol brawled with demonstrators, swinging batons and spraying tear gas.
Speaking for nearly an hour to frequent applause from U.S. lawmakers, as well as stony silence from many leading Democrats, Netanyahu said the U.S. has a shared interest in his country's fight against Hamas and other Iran-backed armed groups.
''America and Israel must stand together. When we stand together something really simple happens: We win, they lose,'' said Netanyahu, who wore a yellow pin expressing solidarity with the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
But the Israeli leader soon pivoted to a darker tone as he derided those protesting the war on college campuses and elsewhere in the U.S., gesturing to demonstrations happening on the streets outside the Capitol. He called protesters ''useful idiots'' for Israel's adversaries.
Netanyahu — making his first trip abroad since the war started — made no direct mention of months of U.S.-led mediation for a cease-fire and hostage-release. His remarks did not appear to close the door on a deal but showed no sign he was eager for one.
''Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas's military capabilities and its rule in Gaza and bring all our hostages home,'' he said. ''That's what total victory means. And we will settle for nothing less.''