Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a ceremony marking Memorial Day for fallen soldiers of Israel’s wars and victims of attacks, at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl military cemetery, May 13, 2024. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool via REUTERS

i24 News – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to Washington, DC, was scheduled to depart Sunday, but after his meeting with US President Biden was postponed to Tuesday, his trip has been pushed back a day.

Using the time while still in Israel, Netanyahu is scheduled to hold a meeting on the ceasefire deal and hostage release with Hamas.

The meeting will deal with formulating an Israeli response to the points of contention in the negotiation. These include the mechanisms for returning residents to northern Gaza and control over the Philadelphia Corridor and Rafah crossing. Israel wants to expedite contacts during the visit to the US.

Netanyahu is still expected to meet with Biden as planned, but as Biden is still in isolation after being diagnosed with Covid-19, it is unknown if the meeting will indeed take place.

A joint session of US Congress is scheduled to host Netanyahu on Wednesday, despite some lawmakers calling for his speech to be canceled.

“If he wants to come to speak to members of Congress about how to end the war and release hostages, I would be fine doing that, but I’m not going to sit in a one-way lecture,” said Ro Khanna, a Democratic congressman from California.

Independent Bernie Sanders said Netanyahu “is responsible for the deaths of some 38,000 Palestinians at this point, 60 percent of whom are women and children, elderly people.”