Vice President Kamala Harris has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to help reach a ceasefire deal in gaza while emphasizing the need to end humanitarian crisis.
Harris stated that the need for ceasefire had been long overdue and Israel must ensure it fulfillment.
“We cannot allow ourselves to be numb to the suffering and I will not be silent,” she added.
Harris met with Netanyahu at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building yesterday at the White House grounds, in Washington, D.C.
Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee after Biden dropped out of the election race on Sunday, did not mince words about the humanitarian crisis gripping Gaza after nine months of war between Israel and Hamas militants.
Although as vice president she has mostly echoed Biden in firmly backing Israel’s right to defend itself, she made clear on Thursday that she was losing patience with Israel’s military approach.
“Israel has a right to defend itself. And how it does so matters,” Harris explained.
The meeting came as the Gaza conflict has sparked divisions within the Democratic Party and protests at Biden events.
She acknowledged the concerns, urging Americans to understand the complexity of the region and support efforts toward peace.
“To everyone who has been calling for a ceasefire and to everyone who yearns for peace, I see you and I hear you. Let’s get the deal done so we can get a ceasefire to end the war.”
Harris maintains closer ties to Democratic progressives, some of whom have urged Biden to attach conditions to U.S. weapons shipments to Israel out of concern for high Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza.
The U.S. is a major arms supplier to Israel and has protected the country from critical United Nations votes.
Biden met with Netanyahu earlier and told him that he needed to close gaps to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and remove obstacles in the flow of aid, according to a readout of the meeting provided by the White House.
However, Netanyahu will meet Harris’ Republican rival, Donald Trump, on Friday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
The Gaza conflict began on October 7 when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 captives. Israel’s retaliatory attack has killed over 39,000 people and caused a humanitarian calamity.
A ceasefire has been the subject of negotiations for months, with the U.S. pushing for a six-week ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages by Hamas.
