US Vice President Kamala Harris called on Sunday for an “immediate ceasefire” for “at least six weeks” in the Gaza Strip.
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“Given the level of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire for at least the next six weeks, which is currently on the negotiating table between Israel and Hamas,” Harris said during a speech commemorating a civil rights march in Selma, Alabama.
“This will release the hostages and provide a significant amount of assistance,” she added, calling on Hamas to accept the deal.
“Hamas says it wants a ceasefire. Well, there's a deal on the table. And as I said, Hamas must accept this agreement.”
The proposal from the mediators – Qatar, US, Egypt – is for a six-week pause in fighting and the release of 42 of the 130 Israeli hostages – 31 of whom are believed to be dead – still being held in Gaza against Palestinians detained by Israel.
A senior American official in Washington had previously assured that the Israelis had “in principle accepted the elements of the agreement.”
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Kamala Harris also offered the harshest criticism of Israel yet from a senior US official, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to take steps to increase aid to Gaza.
“The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. There are no excuses,” the vice president said.
She added that Israel “must open new border crossings” and “not impose unnecessary restrictions on the delivery of aid.”
On Monday, Ms. Harris will meet Israeli Minister Benny Gantz, a member of Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet, in Washington.
“The vice president’s meeting is part of our ongoing effort to speak to a broad range of Israeli officials about the war in Gaza and beyond,” a House official said Sunday. White.
Israel's minister without portfolio and former defense minister, Benny Gantz, will also meet with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, according to American officials.
“Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed,” the vice president of the United States said, referring to the aid distribution in Gaza that turned into a tragedy on Thursday.
The Palestinian Hamas Health Ministry accuses the Israeli army of killing 118 people by shooting into crowds. The Israeli army acknowledged there had been only “limited shooting” and said most of the victims died in a “rush.”
People who were “just trying to get food for their families.” […] She faced gunfire and chaos,” Ms. Harris said, adding that her heart ached for the “victims of this terrible tragedy.”
“The threat that Hamas poses to the Israeli people must be eliminated,” she added.