Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Washington DC

On the streets outside the Capitol, there are reports that police deployed pepper spray on protesters who were pushing against the front lines.

At least three people I can see are visibly in pain and are receiving treatment from medics.

One man said he “can’t talk to press” while having someone dump water over his shirtless body.

Netanyahu invokes World War 2 and the 11 September terror attacks in New York to describe the Hamas attack on Israel.

He notes that the attack took place during a Jewish holiday.

"It began as a perfect day, not a cloud in the sky," he continues.

He tells Congress the Hamas attackers "raped women, they beheaded men, they burned babies alive".

He goes on to applaud Israeli forces for having rescued many hostages from Gaza.

Image source, Getty Images

"We meet today at a crossroads of history," Netanyahu says.

He says Iran's "axis of evil" confronts the US, Israel and "our Arab friends".

"This is not a clash of civilisations, this is a clash between barbarism and civilisation," he says, to applause.

America and Israel must stand together, he adds.

Netanyahu says when Israel and the US stand together "we win, they lose" and assures Congress "we will win".

He says 7 October will "forever live in infamy" for Israelis, comparing it to the 11 September attacks on New York.

So far he has received loud applause from members of Congress after he finishes each sentence.

As Netanyahu walked to the podium, cameras show at least one protester in the chamber.

A man has opened his jacket in the balcony, unveiling a yellow shirt that reads "seal the deal now".

He appears to be calling for a deal to release the hostages.

Benjamin Netanyahu enters the chamber to an extended round of applause and cheering.

Starting his addresses, he thanks lawmakers for the "profound honour of addressing this great citadel of democracy for the fourth time".

Image source, Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived.

He will shortly address members from both chambers of US Congress, all gathered, in a bid to bolster support for his country's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Lawmakers are milling around the House of Representatives chamber as they await Netanyahu's entrance.

At least 39 lawmakers have said they are not attending, in protest of Netanyahu and his administration's war in Gaza.

Among those boycotting is influential Democratic former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who has said it is "inappropriate" for Netanyahu to visit.

There are a few noticeable empty chairs in the otherwise packed chamber.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has started the joint meeting of US lawmakers.

You can click watch live at the top of this page to follow the live stream.

Caitriona Perry
Chief presenter, reporting from Capitol Hill

Security continues to increase on Capitol Hill ahead of the speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which will start shortly.

A helicopter has been flying overhead, and there is a heavy security presence.

Most of the Capitol is fenced off with high metal sheeting.

We had been broadcasting on a balcony overlooking the main Capitol building, but Capitol Police came and asked us to move inside for security reasons.

Nobody can be on the balconies until after the Prime Minister has left the complex.

There is understandably a large media presence here, with journalists from right around the world here.

Image source, Reuters

The joint meeting of Congress, which Benjamin Netanyahu is due to address shortly, is about to start.

A steady stream of people is beginning to file in, with the seats slowly but surely filling up.

You can click watch live at the top of this page to follow along.

Tom Bateman
State Department correspondent, in Washington DC

There’s now a huge crowd stretching back from where the barricades are around the US Capital building. They're holding Palestinian flags, banners calling for an end to US arms to Israel, others saying arrest Benjamin Netanyahu.

The protesters arrived into the already febrile atmosphere of Washington in the thick of the tumultuous US election race, bringing to the fore the divisions over one of America's most contested foreign policy issues in years.

The Israeli prime minister's invite was bipartisan but initiated by the Republican speaker of the House Mike Johnson. Ahead of the speech, he castigated the Vice-President and likely Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, after her office said she would not be presiding over the address due to a scheduling clash. He called that a snub.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Many Democratic members of Congress look set to boycott the speech, furious at Netanyahu’s handling of the war and at levels of US military assistance to Israel given the huge number of Palestinian civilians killed in Gaza.

For Netanyahu, beleaguered at home and facing growing international opprobrium, including an arrest warrant sought by the prosecutor of the international criminal court, the invite was the gift from Washington he had awaited.

He will describe Israel as America's indispensable ally in the Middle East. But it is an alliances strained as ever, and President Biden, exasperated at his frequent inability to get Netanyahu to change tack, will not add to the volume over his speech, instead making an Oval Office address tonight about the US election.

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Reuters

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has just addressed the demonstrators protesting Netanyahu's visit.

“We will stop this genocide together. The American people do not want this genocide,” she said, repeating the accusation against Israel’s war campaign in Gaza, which Israel rejects.

Stein is running for president with the Green Party - a political party that lacks much of the campaign punching power of Democrats and Republicans. She was also the party's candidate in 2012 and 2016.

“We are here to tell Congress, ‘how dare you invite this criminal into the people’s house,'" she tells the crowd

“It ends here,” she adds.

Barbara Plett Usher
Correspondent, reporting from Tel Aviv

The Palestinian Presidential Spokesman Nabeel Abu Rudeineh says: "It is time for the US administration and Congress to tell Netanyahu that the war must be stopped immediately".

Many Palestinians see the United States as an enabler of that war, because it’s largely being fought with American weapons.

But they will be watching Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech for any sign that he’s getting close to signing off on a ceasefire.

According to Israeli press reports, negotiators have nearly reached a deal. But Netanyahu has been insisting that military pressure on Hamas is working and should continue.

Palestinians will also be watching to see how much support they have in Washington – how many Democrats stay away from the speech, and how big the protests are.

Image source, Reuters

Kamala Harris will not be present for Benjamin Netanyahu's address today but will meet him on Thursday, the White House says.

The Israeli PM will meet the vice-president and likely Democratic presidential candidate after sitting down with President Joe Biden on Thursday afternoon.

Netanyahu is also expected to meet one-on-one with Donald Trump – who will be the Republican contender in November's presidential race.

Image source, Getty Images

Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress, which will come later this afternoon, will be his second of the day.

The Israeli PM spoke earlier at a memorial service for Joe Lieberman, the former US senator and vice-presidential candidate, who passed away in March.

Speaking at a service at the Washington Hebrew Congregation, Netanyahu said Lieberman was "unwavering in defending Israel".

Netanyahu said that "hours before his passing" Lieberman was editing the final draft of a statement that he had co-authored "backing Israel's war in Gaza".

After the Hamas attacks on 7 October, Netanyahu said Lieberman "understood that what was at stake in this war was a survival of the Jewish state and hence the survival of the Jewish people".

"The Jewish people have lost one of its most noble sons. Israel is lost one of its greatest champions," he added.

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent

Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington is being roundly condemned by his many opponents back home.

In an open letter to four congressional leaders, 16 former top officials from the Israel’s army, intelligence services and national security council offer a brutal assessment of the prime minister.

"We cannot overstate this," they say. "Prime Minister Netanyahu poses an existential threat to the State of Israel."

They say Netanyahu’s visit is all about his own political survival, not the shared interests of Israel and America.

And they remind the congressional leaders that like one of America’s presidential candidates, their guest is facing prosecution for major crimes, which in Netanyahu’s case include bribery and fraud.

I spoke with Haim Tomer, one of five former Mossad officials to sign the letter. He offered a bleak prediction.

"If Israel would go on with the policies of Benjamin Netanyahu towards Lebanon, towards Gaza, towards Iran, to the US administration," he said, "Israel could not survive."

Many of the signatories were opponents of Netanyahu long before the Gaza war broke out last October.

But polls suggest that large numbers of Israelis share their conviction that the prime minister carries much of the blame for allowing the war to occur, and for a pre-war strategy of strengthening Hamas at the expense of the rival Palestinian Authority.

Barbara Plett Usher
Correspondent, reporting from Tel Aviv

There are two large screens set up in "Hostages Square" in central Tel Aviv to watch Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech.

This is a plaza where families of the captives and their supporters have left reminders of loved ones and symbols of their captivity.

What they want to hear is any signal that Netanyahu is prepared to sign a ceasefire deal with Hamas to release the hostages. But their expectations are low.

One of the relatives told me she was frustrated by news that negotiations meant to resume in Qatar tomorrow had been postponed.

She and many others here accuse the prime minister of delaying a deal for his own political reasons.

"When I come here I feel shame and sorrow that we can’t help the hostages because of our prime minister," another woman, Hadar Koller, told me.

She and her two friends weren’t planning to watch the speech. They're not interested in what he has to say. They think he should be here, focusing on a ceasefire deal, not in Washington.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

I arrived at the White House a short while ago, where workers are putting up thick metal fencing ahead of Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit tomorrow.

For now, the fencing appears to be on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House, which would mean that protesters would have access to Lafayette Square, a large park across the street.

It's quiet here today, with only a handful of protesters milling around in the park. Most are a few miles away, on Capitol Hill.

The security set-up is still a work in progress and we have not been told whether there will be additional measures tomorrow, when Netanyahu is slated to meet with President Biden and the families of Americans still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.

We're expecting a briefing from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at 13:30 local time (18:30 BST)

While much attention is focused on Netanyahu's visit to the Capitol today - and the related mass protests - there is also much anticipation here in Washington and at the White House for Biden's first remarks since announcing he would withdraw from the presidential race.

Israeli media report that Israel has delayed its delegation's departure to Qatar for indirect talks with Hamas on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.

The Israeli prime minister’s office had said the negotiating team would be sent tomorrow, following what it called an in-depth discussion with Netanyahu over the weekend.

But an Israeli official told Haaretz newspaper, external that the team would head to Qatar only after Netanyahu and Biden had met at the White House tomorrow.

"One of the objectives of the meeting between Netanyahu and President Biden is to promote the hostage deal framework, and they will discuss it between them,” the official said.

Kan, the Israeli public broadcaster, reported that the negotiators might not arrive in Doha until the beginning of next week.

Netanyahu told hostages' families on Monday that conditions for a deal were "becoming ripe".