Kamala Harris calls for an “immediate ceasefire”

Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, saying Hamas should accept the six-week pause currently on the table and that 'Israel should increase aid flow to besieged enclave amid humanitarian crisis.

Ms. Harris' remarks, delivered in Selma, Alabama, reinforced President Joe Biden's recent push for a deal and came a day before she met with a senior Israeli Cabinet official involved in planning the war, Benny Gantz. His tone echoed a sharper, more urgent tone coming from the White House as his frustration with Israel grew. Last month, the president called Israel's response to the October 7 Hamas attack “over the top.”

Mrs. Harris denounced the dire conditions in Gaza, calling the situation a "humanitarian catastrophe." It was his most forceful assessment yet of the Middle East conflict, which has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and placed the enclave on the brink of famine.

“What we see every day in Gaza is devastating,” Ms. Harris said. “We saw families eating leaves or animal food. Women who give birth to malnourished babies with little or no medical care. And children who die of malnutrition and dehydration. As I have said many times, too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. »

“The threat that Hamas poses to the Israeli people must be eliminated,” Harris added. . “And given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire, for at least the next six weeks. »

Mr. Biden has pushed for a deal between Hamas and Israel that would allow the release of hostages and a temporary ceasefire before Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that begins around March 10. US officials said Israel had "more or less accepted" terms of the deal, but Hamas has not yet agreed.

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