Jake Sullivan
Jake SullivanArie Leib Abrams/Flash 90

The White House declined to say on Sunday whether President Joe Biden will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when Netanyahu visits Washington next month to address the US Congress, Reuters reported.

"I don't have anything to announce today," Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan was quoted as having told CBS's "Face the Nation," adding the two men were in regular communication.

"He's coming to address the Congress. The president talks to him all the time," Sullivan added.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell announced on Thursday that Netanyahu will address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, July 24.

“The bipartisan, bicameral meeting symbolizes the US and Israel's enduring relationship and will offer Prime Minister Netanyahu the opportunity to share the Israeli government's vision for defending their democracy, combatting terror, and establishing just and lasting peace in the region,” they said in a statement announcing the speech.

Netanyahu said in a statement, "I am very moved to have the privilege of representing Israel before both Houses of Congress and to present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us to the representatives of the American people and the entire world.”

It was initially reported that Netanyahu would address Congress next Thursday, June 13, but that date coincides with the second day of the holiday of Shavuot. Had the speech been made on that date, Biden would have been out of the country attending a G7 summit.

The formal invitation to Netanyahu came a week after Johnson said at an event in Washington that Schumer had agreed to invite Netanyahu to address congress.

Netanyahu previously spoke before Congress in March of 2015.

Biden has faced criticism over his support for Israel from his left-leaning political base and there has also been some tensions between he and Netanyahu, particularly over Israel’s operation in the Gazan city of Rafah.

Biden had warned that he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city.

However, a senior Biden administration official subsequently said that Israel has addressed many of Biden's concerns over its operation in the Rafah.

Sullivan said on Sunday he hoped a ceasefire and hostage deal would be in place that by the time Netanyahu came to Washington. Hamas must simply say "yes" to the proposal on the table, he said.