US Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that she had “serious concerns” over the casualties in Gaza and asked him to get a peace deal done.
“We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent.” Harris, who is seeking to succeed Joe Biden, was quoted as saying by news agency AFP in its report.
“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,” Harris told reporters.
Benjamin Netanyahu met President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday to discuss the US-Israeli relationship amid ongoing Gaza conflict tensions. Kamala Harris met with Netanyahu later in the day and took the lead in addressing the public about their discussions.
While being more outspoken than Joe Biden on the civilian causalities in Gaza, Harris called on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and underscored the importance of avoiding further civilian casualties in Gaza.
She said she “expressed with the prime minister my serious concern about the scale of human suffering and Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians.”
“And I made clear my serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there,” the 59-year-old leader stated.
The meeting came after President Biden’s Oval Office address, where he emphasised that achieving peace in Gaza, ending the fighting between Israel and Hamas, and securing the release of hostages are among his top priorities for his remaining six months in office. Despite these efforts, Netanyahu has resisted Biden’s calls for a cease-fire.
Recounting their long relationship, Prime Minister Netanyahu stated, “From a proud Jew Zionist to a proud Irish American Zionist, I want to thank you for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the state of Israel. And I look forward to discussing with you today and working with you in the months ahead on the great issues before us.”
Reflecting back on that first meeting, Joe Biden, in a funny remark, stated, “I was only 12 then.”
Other United States officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, attended the meeting.