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Israel’s Netanyahu heads to D.C. after Biden quits presidential race, war with Hamas continues
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Monday for a scheduled visit to Washington, one day after President Biden announced he would not be running for a second term and amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Ahead of his departure, Netanyahu said Israel will remain a key ally of the U.S. in the Middle East no matter who becomes the next president.
“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 in a statement.
The Israeli leader is due to address both houses of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, as well as speak privately with Mr. Biden in a meeting tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, but which will depend on the president’s recovery from a COVID-19 infection that was announced by the White House on Wednesday.
“This will be an opportunity to thank him for the things he did for Israel in the war and during his long and distinguished career in public service, as Senator, as Vice President, and as President.,” Netanyahu said. “It will also be an opportunity to discuss with him how to advance in the critical months ahead the goals that are important for both our countries: Achieving the release of all our hostages, defeating Hamas, confronting the terror axis of Iran and its proxies, and ensuring that all Israel citizens return safely to their homes in the north and in the south.”
Netanyahu’s visit comes after months of growing tension with Washington over how Israel has conducted its offensive in Gaza after Hamas’ unprecedented Oct. 7 terrorist attack.
His invitation to to address a joint meeting of Congress was organized by the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives, who accuse Mr. Biden of not showing enough support for Israel amid its war with Hamas. About 1,200 people were killed in Israel during Hamas’ attack, and some 240 people were taken hostage.
New protests against U.S. support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which has killed almost 39,000 Palestinians according to health officials in the Hamas-run territory, were expected in Washington on Wednesday, the day of Netanyahu’s address to Congress.
His visit comes on the heels of a Friday opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in The Hague that found Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories to be illegal.
Netanyahu faces growing U.S. pressure to make a deal that would see the remaining Israeli hostages being held in Gaza released in exchange for a halt in the fighting. There have also been regular protests in Israel demanding a hostage deal.
Doaa Albaz/Anadolu/Getty
“Part of the goal [of the trip] is to try to show that with all that’s been said, with all the protests, Netanyahu is still the leader, still has support, he still has strong relations with America,” Yonatan Freeman, an international relations specialist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told the Reuters news agency.
On Monday, the Israeli military ordered Palestinians in Gaza to evacuate from parts of an area that had been designated a humanitarian zone, warning of increased military operations due to “precise intelligence indicating that Hamas has embedded terrorist infrastructure in the area defined as the Humanitarian Area.”
The announcement was followed by intense bombardment in areas around the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis .The Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said at least 37 people were killed, including women and children.
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Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. — A New Hampshire woman suffered severe burns on her leg after hiking off-trail in Yellowstone National Park and falling into scalding water in a thermal area near the Old Faithful geyser, park officials said.
The 60-year-old woman from Windsor, New Hampshire, along with her husband and their leashed dog were walking off a designated trail near the Mallard Lake Trailhead on Monday afternoon when she broke through a thin crust over the water and suffered second- and third-degree burns to her lower leg, park officials said. Her husband and the dog weren’t injured.
The woman was flown to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho for treatment.
National Park Service / Jacob W. Frank
Park visitors are reminded to stay on boardwalks and trails in hydrothermal areas and exercise extreme caution. The ground in those areas is fragile and thin and there’s scalding water just below the surface, park officials said.
Pets are allowed in limited, developed areas of Yellowstone park but are prohibited on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry and in thermal areas.
The incident is under investigation. The woman’s name wasn’t made public.
This is the first known thermal injury in Yellowstone in 2024, park officials said in a statement. The park had recorded 3.5 million visitors through August this year.
Hot springs have injured and killed more people in Yellowstone National Park than any other natural feature, the National Park Service said. At least 22 people have died from hot spring-related injuries in and around the 3,471-square-mile national park since 1890, park officials have said.