Netanyahu pressured on ceasefire deal before US visit

Israeli protesters, world leaders, families of hostages urge PM to act ahead of speech to Congress

World leaders are pushing for a cease-fire agreement. Protesters are taking to the streets across Israel. And hostage families are pleading with their leader to just make a deal.

These are just some of the pressures piling up on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel ahead of his scheduled visit to Washington next week. His speech there before a divided Congress figures to be contentious, particularly if he cannot close a deal with Hamas to end the war before he travels.

Mediators in Qatar and Egypt have been negotiating over a framework for a deal that would stop the fighting and return about 120 living and dead hostages taken in the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, among other terms.

On Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu told the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, that applying more military pressure on Hamas would yield more concessions in negotiations, suggesting that a deal was not imminent.

Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel’s parliamentary opposition, on Wednesday called on Mr. Netanyahu to cancel his speech to Congress on July 24 — unless he planned to announce an agreement.

“He needs to declare a hostage deal — without inventing conditions or raising obstacles every 10 minutes,” Mr. Lapid said on Israeli news radio, alluding to reports that Mr. Netanyahu had complicated negotiations by adding conditions that Hamas would likely resist.

The Hostages Families Forum, which represents relatives of the hostages, organized rallies at 30 locations across Israel on Wednesday, urging Mr. Netanyahu to close a deal.