Israeli forces advance deeper into southern Gaza in wake of Netanyahu speech

Israeli forces advanced deeper into some towns on the eastern side of Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Thursday, hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. lawmakers he was actively engaged in bringing hostages home.

Fighting in recent days has centered around the eastern towns of Bani Suaila, Al-Zanna, and Al-Karara, where the army said it had found the bodies of five Israelis killed in Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel and had been held in Gaza since.

Several were wounded in the eastern towns during Israeli tank and aerial shelling, while an airstrike east of Khan Younis killed four people, Palestinian health officials said.

Israeli bombardment intensified in several areas in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, as tanks operated north, west and in the town center, residents and medics said. Several Palestinians were also wounded in Israeli fire earlier on Thursday.

The Israeli military said forces operating in Khan Younis killed dozens of militants and dismantled around 50 military infrastructures, while it continued activities in Rafah, killing two militants.

In a speech to U.S. Congress, Netanyahu said his government was actively involved in seeking the release of remaining hostages and was confident they would succeed.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu stated Israel does not seek to resettle Gaza and that after the conflict with Hamas militants the enclave should be led by Palestinians who do not seek to destroy his country. He slammed Gaza ceasefire demonstrators, calling for a global alliance against the Iranian regime he accuses of funding them.

Washington has become increasingly alarmed by the humanitarian toll of Israel's nine-month campaign in the narrow coastal territory and protests in Israel and the U.S. has been ratcheting up pressure on Netanyahu.

The prime minister hit back at his critics in a speech at the U.S. Capitol, accusing Tehran of funding and promoting U.S.-based anti-Israel protest - and called Gaza peace activists "Iran's useful idiots."

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"America and Israel today can forge a security alliance in the Middle East to counter the growing Iranian threat," he told lawmakers as demonstrators burned his effigy in the streets beyond the historic Capitol complex.

"All countries that are in peace with Israel, and all those countries who will make peace with Israel, should be invited to join this alliance."

Biden will hold talks with Netanyahu on Thursday and later in the day vice-president Kamala Harris will have a separate meeting with the Israeli leader. The Israeli PM will then meet former president and 2024 Republican candidate Donald Trump on Friday.

'It was depressing'

Hamas described the comments by Netanyahu as "pure lies", accusing him of thwarting efforts to end the conflict.

Netanyahu's comments also disappointed many displaced Palestinians who had hoped for a clearer signal of an imminent end to the fighting, which has laid the overcrowded enclave to waste and created a humanitarian crisis.

"It was depressing he didn't even mention ceasefire at all, not even once," said Tamer Al-Burai, a resident of Gaza City, now displaced in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

Deir Al-Balah, where tanks haven't yet invaded, is currently overcrowded with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, displaced from other areas of the enclave, home to 2.3 million people. "Netanyahu spoke in a play, he spoke to clowns," said Burai.

Negotiations on a ceasefire-for-hostages deal in the Gaza conflict appear to be in their closing stages and Biden and Netanyahu will discuss remaining gaps on Thursday, a senior U.S. official said.

The official said the remaining obstacles are bridgeable and there will be more meetings aimed at reaching a deal between Israel and Hamas over the next week.

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