Harris urges pause in fighting during meeting with top Israeli official

Vice President Kamala Harris, who has emerged as one of the leading voices for Palestinians in closed-door meetings at the White House, is expected to join a member of Israel’s war cabinet, Benny Gantz, in pushing for a pause in the fighting in Gaza. White House on Monday afternoon.

The vice president is also expected to emphasize the urgency of reaching a hostage agreement and reducing the humanitarian crisis that has developed alongside Israel’s war against Hamas in response to the October 7 attacks, a US official said. White House who shared details of its plans. the condition of anonymity.

The official said Ms. Harris would discuss post-war plans for Gaza, which would involve the Palestinian Authority, reiterate U.S. goals to increase aid to the region through food drops that began on Saturday, and express her concerns about the more than a million displaced Palestinians in Rafah, southern Gaza, as Israel prepares to deploy ground troops there.

While Ms. Harris has not strayed too far from Mr. Biden’s war message, she struck a tougher tone in a speech on Sunday, demanding an “immediate ceasefire.” Still, she addressed her comments at Hamas, not Israel’s leadership, reiterating that she and the president “remain unwavering in our commitment to Israel’s security.”

But at meetings at the White House, she has strongly urged the administration not to ignore the anger of Palestinian Americans and others in the United States, who say Mr. Biden has not done enough to prevent the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians . in Gaza, according to four people familiar with the matter.

Her comments mark a shift in the administration’s public stance on Gaza and are aimed in part at addressing Mr. Biden’s increasing political liability as he campaigns for re-election this year. In Michigan, about 150,000 voters cast “uncommitted” ballots in the Democratic primary last week, many expressing anger at the president’s continued support for Israel.

Ms. Harris’ focus on Israel could also help promote her foreign policy credibility at a time when many in her party are wondering whether she is prepared to take over for Mr. Biden if something were to happen to him .

Ms. Harris has repeatedly advised Mr. Biden and senior White House officials that the administration should show more empathy for Palestinian civilians by speaking publicly about the high death toll in Gaza and the plight of survivors, the people familiar with the matter said the case. The vice president has said this should come in addition to continuing to condemn the Hamas attacks on October 7, which killed 1,200 people in Israel.

The vice president’s public comments come as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened. After 100 Palestinians were killed in a chaotic scene at a food convoy last week, she issued a statement that went beyond the careful comments of other US national security officials.

“Just a few days ago we saw hungry, desperate people approaching aid trucks, simply trying to secure food for their families, after weeks of virtually no aid reaching northern Gaza,” she said. “And they were met with gunfire and chaos.”

On Sunday she said that “the people of Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane. And our common humanity compels us to action.”

She later added that the “Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses.”

Mr. Gantz, a former Israeli army chief of staff who visited Washington last year, will meet separately with Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, his office said in a statement, as well as with members of Congress and pro-general members. -Israeli lobbyists.

US officials told reporters this weekend that negotiations were continuing and that Israel had “more or less accepted” a framework for the hostage agreement, but also that Hamas had not yet accepted it. Hamas has rejected the proposal to release the more than 100 Israeli hostages because it does not include a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza – concessions that Israel has said would prevent Hamas from being destroyed.

Mr. Gantz told Mr. Netanyahu on Friday of his intention to fly to the United States to coordinate the messages he would deliver during his meetings with American officials, Mr. Gantz’s office said in a statement on Saturday.

Mr. Netanyahu was dissatisfied with Mr. Gantz’s plans and told him he thought they were “counterproductive,” according to an Israeli official close to Mr. Gantz, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the call between discuss the leaders. Mr. Netanyahu refused to coordinate with Mr. Gantz, the official said.

In a statement, Netanyahu’s office said it had not approved Mr. Gantz’s trip to Washington. An official in Mr Netanyahu’s office, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mr Gantz did not represent the government during his trip to Washington and insisted the prime minister continued to communicate openly with President Biden.

Ms. Harris’ aides have long felt that foreign policy is an opportunity for her to chart her own course and shape a powerful role as vice president. The White House has also previously deployed Ms. Harris to speak on issues that galvanize young voters and voters of color. Ms. Harris is now trying to do both at once: using an urgent foreign policy issue to appeal to a frustrated bloc of voters and define her own distinct political identity.

But some groups that have called for a permanent ceasefire said Ms. Harris did not go far enough. They said her comments amounted to little more than appealing to the rhetoric of those who have protested the war, without actually calling for a radical policy change that could change the situation.

Layla Elabed, the campaign manager for Listen to Michigan, the group that mobilized more than 100,000 voters to vote “unfettered” against Mr. Biden in the Michigan primary, said in a statement that it was clear the administration was responding to pressure.

“But let’s be clear: this is a temporary ceasefire, or what they used to call a humanitarian pause,” Ms. Elabed said in a statement. “The demands of our movement have been clear: a lasting ceasefire and an end to US funding for Israel’s war and occupation against the Palestinian people.”

Adam Ragon And Aaron Bokserman contributed reporting from Jerusalem.