This Was the Message Netanyahu Took to Congress

Israel’s leader traveled some 5,000 miles and did not give an inch.

Addressing a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back on condemnations of Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza and lavished praise and thanks on the United States for its support.

He offered a retort to harsh international criticism that Israel had done far too little to protect civilian lives in Gaza and was starving the population there. And he remained defiant in the face of the global pressure over a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, giving little hint that Israel would back down from the fight anytime soon.

Here are some of the highlights.

He name-checked both Biden and Trump.

Mr. Netanyahu was careful to walk a middle path, thanking both Democrats and Republicans, including President Biden and the Republican presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump, for their support.

“I know that America has our back,” he said. “And I thank you for it. All sides of the aisle. Thank you, my friends.”

He expressed particular appreciation for Mr. Biden’s “heartfelt support for Israel after the savage attack” led by Hamas on Oct. 7. But he also made a point of praising Mr. Trump, who as president was more receptive to some of his expansionist policies.

He denied that Israeli was starving Gazans.

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has requested arrest warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity for Mr. Netanyahu and the leaders of Hamas. But Mr. Netanyahu rejected accusations by the court’s prosecutor that Israel was deliberately cutting off food to Gazans.