The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, conveyed this Monday to the Minister of the Israeli Wartime Government Benny Gantz – rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – her government's “deep concern” about the worrying humanitarian situation in Gaza during a meeting at the White House. According to the presidential office, Harris also called on Israel to take more action to bring more humanitarian aid to the strip and to develop a “credible” humanitarian plan before it attacks Rafah, where nearly 1.5 million people are The majority are already refugees from other areas Israel has bombed.
The meeting, the first in a series between Gantz and senior U.S. government officials during his visit to Washington, comes as pressure mounts to reach a six-week lull in the conflict that has already killed more than 30,000 people According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the majority of Palestinian deaths were women and children. Harris on Sunday urged that this ceasefire be put into effect “immediately,” given the “inhumane” conditions of deprivation and hunger in the Strip.
The meeting took place despite opposition from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has not yet been welcomed to the US president's residence in Joe Biden's three and a half years in office. The Israeli minister will meet with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in the coming days; White House Middle East envoy Brett McGurk and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
In his daily press conference, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller denied that these contacts could constitute a gesture of criticism of Netanyahu. “We met with Benny Gantz because he is one of three members of the wartime government … who has a fundamental vote and a significant role in how this war is fought.”
“The Vice President and Minister Gantz addressed the situation in Rafah and the need for a credible and viable humanitarian plan before considering a major military operation, given the risks to civilians,” the White House statement on the meeting said .
Under pressure from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and Arab American voters to support a permanent ceasefire, the White House, which stood shoulder to shoulder with Israel at the start of the Gaza war, has adopted comparatively more critical rhetoric in recent weeks Ally. “The people of Gaza are dying of hunger. The conditions are inhumane. And our common humanity compels us to act,” Harris said in his speech in Selma, Alabama, on Sunday.
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The United States is pushing for a six-week humanitarian pause in the war in talks that resumed in Cairo on Sunday, but to which Israel did not send representatives. It also calls for a “credible” plan to protect civilians in Rafah from an offensive and for more humanitarian aid to be deployed in Gaza, as it is currently barely arriving in small quantities. The launch of humanitarian aerial aid to the Gaza Strip began this weekend.
Washington assures that maintaining support for its ally gives it the opportunity to exert pressure. But so far this ability has proven to be relative at best. He admits that he has seen no protection plan for Rafah and that “too many innocent Palestinians have died.” Netanyahu insists the war will continue until “total victory”. Eliminating humanitarian aid is a last resort, expensive and ineffective, and in this case is forced by Israel's disinterest in facilitating access by land.
Meanwhile, Washington maintains its support for the offensive and is not considering suspending the abundant military aid it has provided; He also does not support a permanent ceasefire and vetoed a resolution in the United Nations Security Council that would have called for a cessation of hostilities.
Biden, who describes himself as a “Zionist,” is paying a political price for this support. A majority of Democrats support a permanent ceasefire. A campaign has been launched in several states to vote “undeclared,” meaning a blank vote, in party primaries. In Michigan, the first of these and with a significant Arab-American population, 13.3% of ballots received chose this option. The president's popularity is at a very low level as he did not experience any upswing during his three and a half years in office.
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