U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to help broker a Gaza ceasefire deal aimed at alleviating the suffering of Palestinian civilians, taking a firmer stance than President Joe Biden.
“It is time for this war to end,” Harris declared in a televised statement following her face-to-face talks with Netanyahu.
Harris, now the leading Democratic presidential nominee following Biden’s withdrawal from the race on Sunday, was unequivocal about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza after nine months of conflict 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 pointed and serious, raising questions about whether she would adopt a more assertive approach towards Netanyahu if elected president on November 5. However, analysts do not anticipate a major shift in U.S. policy toward Israel, Washington’s closest ally in the Middle East.
The conflict began on October 7 when Hamas militants launched an attack on southern Israel from Gaza, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 captives, according to Israeli reports.
Israel’s retaliatory strikes in Gaza have killed more than 39,000 people and created a humanitarian catastrophe, with much of the coastal enclave devastated, people displaced from their homes, and a severe shortage of emergency relief.
Biden met with Netanyahu earlier and urged him to close gaps to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and facilitate the flow of aid, according to a readout of the meeting provided by the White House.
Netanyahu is set to meet Harris’ Republican rival, Donald Trump, on Friday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
A ceasefire has been under negotiation for months. U.S. officials believe the parties are closer than ever to an agreement for a six-week ceasefire in exchange for the release by Hamas of women, sick, elderly, and wounded hostages.
“There has been hopeful movement in the talks to secure an agreement on this deal, and as I just told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done,” Harris said.
Although as vice president she has mostly echoed Biden in supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, she made it clear on Thursday that her patience with Israel’s military tactics is wearing thin.
“Israel has a right to defend itself. And how it does so matters,” Harris said. In March, she bluntly stated that Israel was not doing enough to alleviate a “humanitarian catastrophe” during its ground offensive in Gaza. She later did not rule out “consequences” for Israel if it launched a full-scale invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza.
A divided party The Gaza conflict has divided the Democratic Party and sparked months of protests at Biden events. A drop in support among Arab Americans could impact Democratic chances in Michigan, one of a handful of states likely to decide the November 5 election.
Acknowledging these concerns, Harris urged Americans to help “encourage efforts to understand the complexity, the nuance, and the history of the region.”
“To everyone who has been calling for a ceasefire and to everyone who yearns for peace, I see you and I hear you,” she said. “Let’s get the deal done so we can get a ceasefire to end the war.”
In an Oval Office address on Wednesday, Biden cited a desire for unity in the Democratic Party as it seeks to defeat Trump as a main reason he decided not to seek reelection but to support Harris for the 2024 race.
