US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday called on Israel to hold new elections, saying he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has "lost his way" and poses an obstacle to peace in the region amid a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Schumer, the most prominent American Jewish politician and the highest-ranking Jewish official in the United States, strongly criticized Netanyahu in a lengthy speech he delivered on the Senate floor, in which he denounced Netanyahu and his far-right allies.

Schumer said the prime minister (Netanyahu) placed himself in a coalition of right-wing extremists, "and as a result, he was all too willing to tolerate civilian casualties in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel around the world to historic lows."

“Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah,” Schumer said.

The high-level warning comes as a growing number of Democrats oppose Israel, and as US President Joe Biden intensifies public pressure on Netanyahu's government, warning that he needs to pay more attention to the civilian death toll in Gaza.

This month, the United States began airdrops of much-needed humanitarian aid and announced it would establish a temporary dock to deliver more aid to Gaza by sea.

Schumer said Netanyahu, who has long opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state, was one of many obstacles to the two-state solution backed by the United States. He also blamed right-wing Israelis, Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Schumer has so far presented himself as a staunch ally of the Israeli government, visiting it just days after the October 7 attack and giving a lengthy speech on the Senate floor in December denouncing “brazen and widespread anti-Semitism the likes of which we have never seen before.”