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Harris says she won’t be ‘silent’ on Gaza suffering after Netanyahu meeting

De facto presidential nominee draws attention to Palestinians’ plight as she walks fine line on divisive conflict.

Published On 26 Jul 202426 Jul 2024

United States Vice President Kamala Harris has pledged not to stay “silent” about suffering in Gaza, shifting emphasis to the plight of Palestinians as the de facto presidential nominee walks a fine line on the conflict dividing her Democratic Party.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Thursday, Harris said that her commitment to Israel’s existence and security was “unwavering”, but that “far too many” innocent civilians had been killed in the war.

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“What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating. The images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time,” Harris said.

“We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not be silent.”

Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee after President Joe Biden’s decision to end his re-election campaign, said that she had urged Netanyahu to agree to a US-backed ceasefire proposal.

“It is time for this war to end and end in a way where Israel is secure, all the hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity and self-determination,” Harris said.

Harris also reiterated her support for Israel’s right to defend itself, condemned Hamas as a “brutal terrorist organisation”, and listed the names of five US citizens believed to be in Hamas’s captivity in Gaza and those of two others whose remains are believed to be in the enclave.

“I have met with the families of these American hostages multiple times now, and I have told each time they are not alone and I stand with them, and President Biden and I are working every day to bring them home,” she said.