Harris will meet with a top Israeli official as ceasefire talks continue

Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Benny Gantz, a member of the Israeli war cabinet, Monday in Washington, according to a White House official and a spokesman for Mr. Gantz.

During the meeting with Mr Gantz, Ms Harris is expected to discuss the urgency of concluding a hostage agreement, which would allow a temporary ceasefire, and the need to significantly increase aid to Gaza, said the White House official. who provided details about the condition of anonymity.

The meeting, which will take place at the White House, comes as the Biden administration is under pressure to secure a temporary ceasefire and hostage deal in the war between Israel and Hamas and to stem the escalating to tackle the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza more forcefully.

On Saturday, another senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic efforts, told reporters that negotiations were continuing and that Israel had “more or less accepted” a framework for the deal and that the ball was now in its hands . Hamas court.

The proposal could lead to a six-week lull in fighting, as well as the release of some hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israel. President Biden had expressed hope that an agreement could be reached on Monday as US officials said they were working to reach an agreement by the start of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that will start around March 10 this year .

The United States also delivered its first airdrop of food into Gaza on Saturday, amid warnings that the besieged enclave was on the brink of famine. Israel has imposed strict restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid, while international aid agencies have suspended some convoys due to increasing anarchy and the looting of some aid trucks in Gaza.

Ms. Harris is also expected to discuss the U.S. commitment to increasing the flow of aid to Gaza, including more food drops, the official said. She plans to convince Mr Gantz on the need to reduce civilian casualties and express concern for the safety of more than a million displaced Palestinians in Rafah, southern Gaza, as Israel plans to deploy ground troops there to put.

The meeting was previously reported by the Reuters news service.

The number of Palestinians killed in the war exceeded 30,000 this week, according to health officials in Gaza. More than a hundred Palestinians were killed on Thursday after Israeli forces opened fire around a convoy of aid trucks in northern Gaza, where crowds had descended in a desperate bid to get food. The Israeli military said most were killed in a clash around the vehicles, some of which ran over panicked Gazans as they tried to free themselves. Palestinian witnesses and doctors have said Israeli forces fired widely, wounding and killing dozens.

The deadly toll and dire conditions have led to increasing international calls for an immediate ceasefire, which the Biden administration has so far refrained from.

At the meeting, Ms. Harris plans to reiterate the U.S. position that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, which led a brutal attack on Oct. 7 that Israeli officials say left more than 1,200 dead. She also expects to discuss post-war plans for the reconstruction of Gaza, which would be governed by the Palestinian Authority.

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

It was unclear whether Mr Gantz’s visit had the full support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two men belong to different parties and have often faced off, but Mr. Gantz, a centrist former defense minister and army chief, joined the emergency war cabinet when the war began. Mr Gantz’s office said he had informed the prime minister about his visit to coordinate talking points.