Harris pushes Netanyahu to ease suffering in Gaza: ‘I will not be silent’
WASHINGTON- Arabtelegraph — US Vice President Kamala Harris pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 25 to help reach a Gaza ceasefire deal that would ease the suffering of Palestinian civilians, striking a tougher tone than President Joe Biden.
“It is time for this war to end,” Harris said in a televised statement after she held face-to-face talks with Netanyahu.
Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee after Biden dropped out of the election race on July 21, did not mince words about the humanitarian crisis gripping Gaza after nine months of war between Israel and Hamas militants.
“We cannot allow ourselves to be numb to the suffering and I will not be silent,” she said.
Harris’ remarks were sharp and serious in tone and raised the question of whether she would be more aggressive in dealing with Netanyahu if elected president on Nov 5. But analysts do not expect there would be a major shift in US policy toward Israel, Washington’s closest ally in the Middle East.
The conflict began on Oct 7 when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel from Gaza, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 captives, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s retaliatory attack in Gaza has killed more than 39,000 people and caused a humanitarian calamity with most of the coastal enclave levelled, people displaced from their homes, famine and a shortage of emergency relief.
Biden met with Netanyahu but did not make substantive remarks. Aides said he pressed for a ceasefire in his first face-to-face talks with the Israeli leader since Biden travelled to Tel Aviv in the days after Oct 7.