V.P. Kamala Harris Meets Israeli War Cabinet Member Benny Gantz at the White House During a Six Week War on Gaza
Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz at the White House on Monday, as the U.S. looks to secure a temporary cease-fire deal to bring in more humanitarian aid into Gaza and for hostages to be released, a White House official said.
The vice president said there were no excuses. Humanitarian convoys must not be targeted, basic services in Gaza must be restored and more food, water, and fuel can reach those in need.
The former Israeli military chief’s visit threatens to worsen his relations with political rival Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. An Israeli source that wasn’t authorized to talk publicly said Netanyahu was upset that the trip was arranged without his knowledge.
Ms. Harris’s remarks, delivered in Selma, Ala., bolstered a recent push by the Biden administration for an agreement and came a day before she was to meet with a top Israeli cabinet official involved in war planning, Benny Gantz. Her tone, sharper and more urgent than President Biden’s in recent days, showed the White House’s building frustration with Israel. Last month the president called Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack “over the top.”
The Hamas-led attack killed some 1,200 people and took some 240 people hostage, according to Israeli officials. Israel’s response has killed more than 30,300 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The U.S. began air-dropping desperately needed aid over the Gaza Strip on Saturday. Poor coordination with the Israeli military and ongoing fighting have made it difficult to get aid to Gaza.
Harris said that Israel needs to do more to increase aid flow. Israel must open new border crossings and should not impose unnecessary restrictions on the delivery of aid, she said.
Ms. Harris stated that the United States supports the right to defend Israel against the threat from Hamas, which she said had no regard for innocent life in Israel or Gaza.
The Vice President asked Hamas to agree to the six week pause currently on the table and that Israel increase the flow of aid into the besieged enclave.
She said that there needs to be an immediately cease-fire in Gaza. The civil rights event was marked by loud applause from the crowd.
Harris spoke at the annual commemoration of “Bloody Sunday,” in Selma, Ala., a symbolic site in the U.S. fight for civil rights, where in 1965 state troopers beat peaceful protesters.
The slaughter of innocent Palestinians and mothers of newborns: the Gaza crisis as a test of the Palestinian psychiatric orthodoxy
It is devastating to see what we are seeing every day in Gaza. There have been reports that families are eating leaves or animal feeds and mothers are giving birth to babies with little or no medical care. There have been a lot of innocent Palestinians killed.