US Vice President Kamala Harris mentioned Thursday that she expressed concern in regards to the scenario within the Gaza Strip to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu throughout their assembly on the White House.
“I made clear my serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there, with over 2 million people facing high levels of food insecurity and half a million people facing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity,” Harris instructed reporters after the closed-door assembly with Netanyahu.
The assembly got here a day after Netanyahu addressed a joint session of the US Congress, the place he claimed that the warfare in Gaza has “one of the lowest ratios of combatants to non-combatant casualties in the history of urban warfare.”
Harris mentioned that what has occurred in Gaza over the previous 9 months is “devastating.”
“The photos of lifeless kids and determined, hungry folks fleeing for security, typically displaced for the second, third or fourth time.
“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,” she added.
– ‘IT IS TIME TO GET THIS DEAL DONE’
Earlier, Netanyahu met with US President Joe Biden, who ended his presidential re-election marketing campaign on Sunday and endorsed Harris to switch him because the Democratic presidential candidate.
With her remarks, Harris mirrored a significant shift in Gaza coverage, whereas urging Netanyahu to succeed in a cease-fire within the besieged enclave.
“Thanks to the leadership of our president, Joe Biden, there is a deal on the table for a cease-fire and a hostage deal…I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu it is time to get this deal done,” she added.
On May 31, Biden mentioned that Israel offered a three-phase deal that will finish hostilities in Gaza and safe the discharge of hostages held within the coastal enclave. The plan features a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner change, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
“Let’s get the deal done so we can get a cease-fire to end the war. Let’s bring the hostages home, and let’s provide much needed relief to the Palestinian people,” Harris mentioned.
Harris additionally careworn that she stays dedicated to a path ahead that may result in a two-state answer between Israel and Palestine.
“I know right now it is hard to conceive of that prospect, but a two-state solution is the only path that ensures Israel remains a secure Jewish and democratic state, and one that ensures Palestinians can finally realize the freedom, security and prosperity that they rightly deserve,” she added.
Israel, flouting a UN Security Council decision demanding an instantaneous cease-fire, has confronted worldwide condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 assault by the Palestinian group Hamas.
Nearly 39,200 Palestinians have been killed, largely girls and kids, and over 90,400 injured, in line with native well being authorities.
Over 9 months into the Israeli onslaught, huge tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of meals, clear water and drugs.
Israel is accused of genocide on the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to right away halt its army operation within the southern metropolis of Rafah, the place greater than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the warfare earlier than it was invaded on May 6.
Source: www.anews.com.tr