Crisis in the Middle East: At least 20 people waiting for food were killed in the attack, Gaza authorities say

“I believe in his heart. His top priority is the security of Israel,” said Mr. Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the United States. “However, I also believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost his way by allowing his political survival to trump Israel’s best interests.”

Schumer added: “He has been too willing to tolerate civilian casualties in Gaza, which is driving support for Israel around the world to historic lows. Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah.”

The speech was the latest reflection of growing dissatisfaction among Democrats, particularly progressives, with Israel’s conduct of the war and its toll on Palestinian civilians, creating a strategic and political dilemma for Mr. Biden. Republicans have tried to exploit this dynamic to an electoral advantage, squeezing Netanyahu tighter as Democrats reject him. And on Thursday, they sharply criticized Mr. Schumer for his remarks.

Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, said on the Senate floor that it was “grotesque and hypocritical” that Americans “who are hyperventilating about foreign interference in our democracy are calling for the removal of Israel’s democratically elected leader.” He called Schumer’s move “unprecedented.”

“The Democratic Party has no problem with anti-Bibi,” McConnell said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. “He has an anti-Israel problem.”

Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, called Mr. Schumer’s remarks “shockingly evil” and accused him of “calling for the people of Israel to overthrow their government.” And House Republicans, gathered in West Virginia for a party retreat, hastily called a news conference to attack Mr. Schumer for his comments and position themselves as Israel’s true friends in Congress.

Schumer’s remarks came a day after Senate Republicans invited Netanyahu to speak as a special guest at a party retreat in Washington. Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the third Republican, asked Netanyahu to address Republicans virtually, but he was unable to appear due to a last-minute scheduling conflict. Ambassador Michael Herzog, Israel’s envoy to the United States, spoke on his behalf and also addressed the House GOP meeting on Thursday.

In his speech on Capitol Hill, Mr. Schumer, who represents a state with more than 20 percent of its Jewish population, was careful to say that he was not trying to dictate any election outcome in Israel. He preceded his sharp criticism of Netanyahu with a lengthy defense of the country that, he said, American Jews “love in their bones.”

Schumer said there was a “misperception” of the war that placed too much blame on Israel for civilian deaths in Gaza, without focusing enough on how Hamas uses Palestinian civilians as human shields. He also acknowledged how difficult it was for traumatized Israelis today to consider the possibility of a two-state solution.

However, he did not spare criticism of Netanyahu, calling the prime minister one of the main obstacles to achieving peace in the Middle East, along with Hamas, “radical right-wing Israelis” and Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, who he also believed should be replaced.

“Netanyahu’s coalition no longer meets Israel’s needs after October 7,” Schumer said, referring to the day of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. “The world has changed since then – radically – and the nation of Israel is now stifled by a vision of governance that is stuck in the past.”

Schumer said the only solution to the decades-long conflict is a two-state solution: “a demilitarized Palestinian state living alongside Israel in equal conditions of peace, security, prosperity and dignity.” He said Netanyahu, who rejected the idea of ​​Palestinian statehood, was endangering Israel’s future.

“At this critical moment, I imagine that recent elections are the only strategy to enable healthy and open decision-making about Israel’s future, at a time when so many Israelis have lost faith in the vision and direction of their governments,” Schumer said, adding that he believed the majority of Israeli society “recognizes the need for change.”

“As a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders and we should let the chips fall where they may,” he said. “But what is important is that Israelis have a choice. After October 7, a new debate on the future of Israel is necessary.”

Schumer notified White House officials in advance that he would deliver the speech.

“We fully respect his right to make such comments and to decide for himself what he will say on the Senate floor,” said John F. Kirby, a White House spokesman. “He is clearly convinced of this. We understand and respect that. “It wasn’t about approval or disapproval or anything, but he told us he was going to do it.”

Mr. Schumer’s speech was his second appearance since Oct. 7 on the Senate floor to address the Israel-Hamas war. The conflict made him think more deeply and speak more openly about his Jewish faith and heritage, as well as the moral and political dilemmas the war posed for Jews in Israel and the United States.

In November, Mr. Schumer delivered a deeply personal speech in which he condemned the rise of anti-Semitism in America, which has escalated since Israel began retaliating against Hamas for its attack. These remarks seemed to be directed mainly at members of his own party; warned that some liberals and young people are “unwittingly supporting” anti-Semitism in the name of social justice. Schumer has since talked to publishers about writing a book about anti-Semitism.

His speech on Thursday was aimed directly at Netanyahu and far-right members of his ruling coalition, who Schumer says are not guided by Jewish values.

Mr. Herzog’s response was harsh. “Israel is a sovereign democracy,” he wrote on social media. “It is not useful to comment on the internal political scene of a democratic ally, especially since Israel is at war with the genocidal terrorist organization Hamas.”

In his remarks, Schumer said Netanyahu refused “to disavow Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir and their calls for Israelis to expel Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank.”

“He won’t engage in a military operation in Rafah whose priority will likely be the protection of civilian lives,” Schumer said. “He will not responsibly engage in discussions about the morning after plan for Gaza and the long-term path to peace.”

Schumer said that if Netanyahu and his current coalition remain in power, “then the United States could have no alternative but to play a more energetic role in shaping Israeli policy, using our leverage to vary the current course.”

Underscoring how controversial the issue of Israel is in American politics, Schumer’s speech was criticized by both the right and the left.

Layla Elabed, campaign manager for Listen to Michigan, an anti-war activist group that voted “non-aligned” in the state’s Democratic presidential primary, said that “Senator Schumer is starting to vary, but far too slowly and without the specific actions he can take.” make Biden make the decision now to stop the outrageous civilian death toll in Gaza.”

Nicholas Fandos AND Peter Baker reporting contributed.