Speaker Johnson to invite Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to address Congress

House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress.

"I would love to have him come in and address a joint session of Congress. We'll certainly extend that invitation" to Netanyahu, Johnson said on CNBC's Squawk Box. The speaker has not issued any official invite or picked a date for an address.

The invitation comes as the months-long Israeli war in Gaza has highlighted a shifting debate on Capitol Hill about U.S. support for Israel, its longtime ally. There's a long tradition of bipartisan support for Israel in Congress, but in recent months there's been a growing divide among Democrats about the U.S. policy toward Israel. A bloc of progressive lawmakers has called on the president to condition aid or restrict U.S. aid to focus on humanitarian assistance for the civilians in Gaza affected by the military operations. Israel has defended its operations, citing it is right to defend itself following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed about 1,200 people, with more than 250 people taken as hostages. Israel's operations in Gaza have killed more than 30,000 people.

President Biden spoke to Netanyahu by phone Monday, delivering a message urging him to avoid military operations in Rafah, an area with more than a million civilians at risk.

Foreign leaders are regularly invited to address joint sessions of Congress, but the custom is for the invitation to come both from the House speaker and the Senate majority leader.

Johnson has not consulted with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D- N.Y., about the invitation yet, according to a spokesperson for Schumer. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told NPR the speaker has not talked to him about the invitation.

"Israel has no