Senate Republicans speak with Netanyahu, claim partisan split over supporting Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Senate Republicans for about 45 minutes Wednesday in a closed-door videoconference at their weekly lunch where he asserted Israel must have the freedom and time to complete its war with Hamas.

He spoke with the GOP lawmakers days after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for Israel to hold a new election seen as a way to replace Netanyahu.

After the meeting, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the prime minister expressed "commitment to completing the war and defeating Hamas," a U.S.-designated terrorist group.

"He was grateful for America's standing with Israel," Cruz said.

"It's an existential threat to them and they very much need the time and the space to be able to do that," Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn said.