Netanyahu promised US Congress members, “Victory against Hamas is a few weeks away.”

Speaking to a group of US Congress members, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that “victory” in Gaza and “getting” Hamas’ senior leadership in the enclave are only “a few weeks away.”

On Wednesday, March 27, Netanyahu made the following statement to a group of Congressmen from both parties: “We have killed many senior leaders [of Hamas], including number four and number three in Hamas.” Numbers two and one will be ours. That’s the triumph. It’s possible to win. A few weeks remain.

In Jerusalem, Netanyahu hosted the congressional delegation and stated that it was “very important to maintain bipartisan support,” “especially in these trying times.” The Prime Minister’s Office said that the congressional delegation was brought in by the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

According to Netanyahu, Israel’s “very existence is on the line,” so the country “had no choice” but to relocate to Rafah.

The prime minister stated that although Israel and the Biden administration had a “remarkable alignment” since the October 7 Hamas attack, their opinions on an Israeli invasion of Rafah were fundamentally different.

Before its intended attack on the southern Gaza city, where more than a million people are currently seeking refuge, Israel has come under fire from around the world.

The delegation had earlier been informed by Netanyahu that Gaza’s displaced Palestinians could “just move” out of Rafah and “move with their tents.”

Netanyahu declared, “There’s the whole Gaza Strip north of Rafah.” The prime minister went on, “People move down, they can move up.”

Relations between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have deteriorated due to differences over the approaching invasion of Rafah and the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Netanyahu canceled the government’s scheduled trip to Washington earlier this week in protest of the US abstaining from a UN Security Council vote that would have allowed a resolution requesting an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to pass.

The ten non-permanent Security Council members put forth a resolution that called for “the urgent need to expand the flow” of aid into Gaza, an immediate and unconditional release of hostages, and an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan.

Senior US officials and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met on Monday and Tuesday, but they were unable to come to any consensus on how Israel would proceed with its operation in Rafah. Nevertheless, they did agree to continue talking at a working level in the days and weeks ahead.