Fact-checking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress

In his address to Congress on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with determination, vowing to continue the conflict in Gaza until Israeli captives are freed and Hamas is eradicated.

He spoke in support of Israel's actions, countering objections that the war has lasted too much time and caused too many innocent people to be harmed. While doing this, he made several statements about the Gaza conflict that were untrue, insufficiently explained, or not backed up by evidence.

We will explain them thoroughly here:

Statement: Netanyahu stated that Israel has allowed over 40,000 aid trucks to enter Gaza, providing more than 3,000 calories for each individual in the territory.

Truth: Over twelve charitable organizations operating in the region have stated that Israel's data on truck arrivals "does not consider many important factors needed for a successful operational reaction".

They mentioned that just bringing trucks into Gaza does not ensure that the supplies actually make it to the people who need them because of safety and security concerns. Additionally, they explained that the numbers reported do not distinguish between different types of cargo, causing commercial items to be mixed with important humanitarian aid. This makes it difficult to see the true extent of help reaching those in urgent need.

CNN recently covered the inconsistent and selective standards that Israel uses for allowing aid to enter, as well as the strict regulations enforced at checkpoints.

Statement: Netanyahu stated that a commander in Rafah informed him that there were almost no civilian casualties in the city except for a "single incident where fragments from a bomb struck a Hamas weapons storage site and accidentally caused the deaths of twenty-four individuals."

Truth: Numerous accounts have been made about various attacks in Rafah that have caused harm to innocent civilians.

The event Netanyahu seemed to be talking about happened in May and resulted in the deaths of a minimum of 45 individuals at a shelter for displaced Palestinians. Over 200 people were hurt in the air attack when a fire started at the shelter after the strike. The majority of those injured were women and children, as reported by the Gaza Health Ministry and Palestinian medical staff.

During the week, a minimum of 29 Palestinians lost their lives in two different Israeli assaults on displacement camps in Rafah, as reported by Palestinian and UN authorities.

CNN has confirmed that there are videos from Rafah and have talked to many health workers, humanitarian aid workers, and people who saw it happen who say that civilians have died because of Israel's attack on the city.

Statement: Netanyahu stated that the conflict in Gaza has a very low ratio of fighters to civilians being injured or killed, compared to other similar battles in urban areas throughout history.

Israel has been claiming for a long time during the war that the number of civilians killed compared to terrorists is very small, but experts have raised questions about this assertion.

In November, former Israeli military spokesperson Jonathan Conricus told CNN that Israel thinks it has taken down two Palestinian civilians for every Hamas fighter, calling the ratio "very good." When asked about these statements, Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton, who is part of the House Armed Services Committee and has experience serving in Iraq, told CNN that he believes these claims are incorrect.

Conricus mentioned that when the Israeli military provided updates on the number of fighters it had eliminated, they were talking about combatants, individuals who are actively engaged in fighting. In Gaza, many residents work for Hamas-controlled administrative departments but perform non-military tasks.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza does not differentiate between deaths of fighters and deaths of non-fighters in its reports. However, they have mentioned before that around 70% of all casualties in Gaza are women and children.

A recent report from the watchdog group Airwars showed that there was a strong connection between the civilian casualty data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the information reported by Palestinian civilians online.

Over 39,000 individuals have lost their lives in Gaza since October, following Israel's initiation of a conflict with Hamas in response to an attack on October 7th. The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,200 individuals and the capture of over 250 hostages.

Statement: Netanyahu claimed that the head of US national intelligence recently disclosed that Iran is financially backing and encouraging protests against Israel in America. He also stated: "If the oppressive leaders in Tehran, known for their inhumane treatment of LGBTQ individuals and women, are publicly supporting and funding you, then you are essentially serving as puppets for Iran."

Truth: It is not true that all anti-war protesters are controlled by Iran, but US intelligence has reported that the Iranian government has attempted to pay certain protesters.

In the previous month, Avril Haines, the Director of National Intelligence, stated that Iran is secretly trying to encourage protests in the US about the war in Gaza. They are pretending to be activists online and even giving money to protesters in some cases. However, Haines also mentioned that she understands that Americans who join protests are sincerely sharing their opinions on the Gaza conflict and the intelligence does not suggest otherwise.

Assertion: Netanyahu dismissed the International Criminal Court's accusation that Israel is depriving the people of Gaza of food as completely false and fabricated.

Did you know that on October 9th, Israel imposed a "total blockade" on Gaza? Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that the delivery of electricity, food, water, and fuel to the area would be stopped.

Israel has reduced some of the rules, but organizations helping say only a small amount of food is getting through to Gaza, causing many people to be very hungry. They also mention that Israel's military actions in Gaza make it difficult to safely give out food. In April, Samantha Power from USAID said it is likely that there is already a serious lack of food in some parts of Gaza.

Human Rights Watch has claimed that Israel is purposely withholding essential resources as a form of warfare against Gaza. They have stated that top Israeli officials have openly admitted to wanting to deny civilians access to basic necessities like food, water, and fuel. The organization alleges that this strategy is being implemented by the Israeli military.

Statement: Netanyahu stated that if the Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing a lack of food, it is not due to Israel preventing it, but rather because Hamas is taking it.

Truth: Some people in Gaza have said that Hamas is taking aid, but it's not certain how widespread this is.

Israeli authorities have been stating that Hamas was taking aid without permission since October. UN Humanitarian Coordinator, Lynn Hastings, informed CNN at that time that Hamas was not taking aid because aid was not being delivered.

US Special Envoy David Satterfield stated in February that there is no evidence to support the claims that Hamas has illegally taken aid. He mentioned that neither Israeli officials nor the Biden administration have provided him with any specific proof of aid diversion or theft by Hamas.

The representative for the United States Department, Matthew Miller, mentioned in May that a shipment from Jordan was temporarily taken by the group before being retrieved by the United Nations. CNN is unable to verify this statement on its own.

Relief organizations have reported instances of theft by civilians as a result of Israel's military actions causing chaos and insecurity in the community.

This article has been revised with extra details.