Washington: US Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to help reach a ceasefire deal and end the nearly ten-month war in the Gaza Strip to ease the sufferings of Palestinian citizens, striking a tougher tone than President Joe Biden, who also met Netanyahu at the White House. "It is time for this war to end," Harris said in a televised statement after the talks with the Israeli PM.
According to a statement by the White House, Harris, who is set to replace Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate for the November elections, reiterated her longstanding and unwavering commitment to the security of the State of Israel and the people of Israel. She also discussed the Biden administration's work to ensure Israel can defend itself from threats from Iran and Iranian-backed terrorist groups. Harris also echoed Biden in "expressing the need to close the remaining gaps, finalize the deal as soon as possible, bring the hostages home, and reach a durable end to the war in Gaza."
"Israel has a right to defend itself and how it does so matters. What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating... The images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time. We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies," Harris told reporters after her meeting with Netanyahu.
Harris says she "will not be silent"
"We cannot allow ourselves to be numb to the suffering and I will not be silent," Harris further said, her sharp remarks raising questions over whether she would be more aggressive than Biden in dealing with Netanyahu if she is elected President in November 5 elections. However, analysts do not expect there would be a major shift in US policy toward Israel, Washington's closest ally in the Middle East.
This came after Biden met Netanyahu at the White House, where the 81-year-old US President told him that he needed to close gaps to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and remove obstacles in the flow of aid. Netanyahu's meetings at the White House came a day after he gave a fiery speech to Congress, vowing “total victory” against Hamas.
Netanyahu will meet former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Friday, amid pressure both at home and abroad to conclude the war, which has wreaked havoc in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. Hamas triggered the war by unleashing a devastating attack on October 7 last year, killing 1,200 people.
Israel's retaliatory attack in Gaza has killed more than 39,000 people and caused a humanitarian calamity with most of the coastal enclave leveled, people displaced from their homes, famine and a shortage of emergency relief. The rising death count has sparked international alarm and rising calls for an urgent ceasefire.
Israel-Hamas ceasefire negotiations
A ceasefire has been the subject of negotiations for months. US officials believe the parties are closer than ever before to an agreement for a six-week ceasefire in exchange for the release by Hamas of women, sick, elderly and wounded hostages.
"I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done. So 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. Let's bring the hostages home and let's provide much-needed relief to the Palestinian people," Harris said further, while calling on people to condemn both antisemitism and Islamophobia.
In March, the Vice President bluntly stated that Israel was not doing enough to ease a "humanitarian catastrophe" during its military offensive in Gaza. Later, she did not rule out "consequences" for Israel if it launched a full-scale invasion of refugee-packed Rafah in southern Gaza. US approach towards the war has splintered the Democratic Party and sparked months of protests across the nation.
(with inputs from agencies)
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