Harris says she ‘will not be silent’ about humanitarian toll in Gaza

Vice President Kamala Harris, right, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appear before a meeting at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Thursday, July 25, 2024. American and Israeli flags are behind them.
Vice President Kamala Harris, right, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appear before a meeting at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Thursday, July 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Vice President Kamala Harris, in remarks Thursday after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said that while she held an “unwavering commitment to Israel,” she “will not be silent” about the humanitarian toll in Gaza.

“I’ve said it many times, but it bears repeating: Israel has a right to defend itself and how it does so matters,” Harris said. But, she said, she discussed with Netanyahu her “serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians.”

In her remarks, Harris reiterated the deal proposed by Biden that would ultimately lead to a permanent end to the fighting, the release of all Israeli hostages by Hamas, and a complete Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza. Earlier Thursday, John Kirby, the NSC spokesman, said “gaps … remain” in the negotiations but “we believe that they are of a nature that they can be closed.”