Hamas Issues Warning Ahead of Netanyahu's Speech to Congress

A senior Hamas official has issued a warning to the United States over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit and upcoming address to Congress amid the war between the Palestinian movement and Israel in the Gaza Strip.

"Humanity should be ashamed of itself for allowing this crime of 'genocide' to continue, while the criminal 'NETANYAHU' who is carrying it out is to be received warmly in the capital of the biggest country in the world," Hamas spokesperson and former health minister Basem Naim said in a statement shared with Newsweek.

The remarks came as Naim also penned an op-ed for Al-Jazeera on Tuesday in which he argued that "receiving a person accused of all kinds of war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially the crime of genocide, and celebrating him and enabling him from the highest platforms in the country to spread his lies, is a bad omen for you before it is for us, the Palestinians and the peoples of the region."

President Joe Biden's administration has provided substantial military aid to Israel since the beginning of the conflict, which erupted last October after a Hamas-led surprise attack on Israel. At the same time, the war has emerged as a deeply polarizing issue in the U.S., with pro-Palestinian protests regularly breaking out across cities and college campuses nationwide in response to Israel's ongoing offensive in Gaza, which has included the targeting of senior leaders of Hamas and other allied factions.

With tensions high over the issue at home and abroad, a spokesperson for the U.S. Secret Service told Newsweek that, "along with our law enforcement partners, we are monitoring the threat environment surrounding Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit."

The spokesperson added that, "out of concern for operational security, the Secret Service does not discuss the specific means and methods used for our protective operations."

Newsweek has reached out to Netanyahu's office for comment.

At least one group, the Palestinian Youth Movement, has already claimed to have taken action in protest of Netanyahu's visit.

In a video published Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, the activists claimed to have released maggots at a table for the Israeli delegation at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., "so that Netanyahu, Israeli Mossad agents, and the Secret Service had no peace as they continue to terrorize our people."

Newsweek could not independently verify the claim.

Secret Service has been under heightened scrutiny this month after Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump was injured during a July 13 assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania. Reports have also surfaced of an alleged plot linked to Iran against Trump on U.S. soil, though Iranian officials have vehemently denied this.

Netanyahu was set to meet both Trump and Biden, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been pegged as the likely Democratic nominee after Biden announced on Sunday that he would not seek re-election, during his U.S. trip. Harris, who would normally preside over Netanyahu's speech before Congress, has opted to remain on the campaign trail in a scheduled visit to Indiana.

Hamas, for its part, has been deeply critical of both Trump and Biden over their support for Israel and has celebrated pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the U.S. Such protests gathered around the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday ahead of Netanyahu's speech before lawmakers.

In his upcoming remarks, the first delivered by Netanyahu to Congress since the beginning of the conflict in Gaza more than nine months ago, the Israeli premier will seek to promote wartime goals of defeating Hamas, returning around 100 hostages still believed to be held by the group and all Israelis displaced from their homes as well as confronting Iran and its allies, which have launched daily attacks against Israel since the war began, Newsweek has learned via sources granted anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Netanyahu will seek to rally international support for the broader confrontation that has emerged between Israel and Iran across the region and strive to link the issue to U.S. national security as well. He will also appeal for more robust U.S.-Israel relations at a time when the Biden administration has accused him of not doing enough to prevent civilian casualties and accelerate humanitarian aid into Gaza.

"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," Netanyahu said before takeoff to the U.S. on Monday.

Around 1,200 people were killed in the initial Hamas-led attack against Israel and at least 324 Israeli soldiers have been killed since ground operations began in Gaza weeks later, according to Israeli officials. The Palestinian Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza has counted about 39,000 killed in the densely populated coastal territory throughout the war.

The International Criminal Court (ICC)'s chief prosecutor has sought arrest warrants for senior Hamas and Israeli leadership, including Netanyahu, over suspected war crimes committed during the conflict. Neither Israel nor the U.S. are parties to the ICC's founding Rome Statute, meaning Netanyahu would be free to travel to Washington in the event that international arrest warrants are issued by the Hague-based court, though his travels elsewhere, including most of Europe, may be significantly limited.

As Netanyahu prepared to speech in Washington on Wednesday, battles continued to rage in Gaza, with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, claiming new operations in the areas of Rafah and Khan Younis. Other Palestinian factions, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Resistance Committees also announced attacks on Israeli forces throughout the day.

The IDF also held an exercise Wednesday on the northern border in preparation for a potential war with Lebanon's Hezbollah, a leading member of the Iran-aligned Axis of Resistance that has engaged in an intensifying series of clashes with Israel in connection with the fighting in Gaza.

This is a developing news story. More information will be added as it becomes available.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.