Vice President Kamala Harris has urged Israel to enhance its humanitarian assistance to Gaza, highlighting the dire situation of starvation faced by the people there. She stressed the urgency of a ceasefire and called for the release of Israeli hostages. Israel abstained from participating in ceasefire negotiations in Egypt, citing Hamas’s failure to provide a list of hostages who survived due to Israeli airstrikes. Hamas representatives have stated that the chaotic conditions of the ongoing conflict make it challenging to identify survivors accurately.
Calls for a ceasefire have grown louder following a devastating event near Gaza City, where a confrontation between civilians and Israeli soldiers led to the deaths of at least 112 individuals. Vice President Kamala Harris voiced her alarm over the severe conditions in Gaza, drawing attention to accounts of families consuming leaves or animal feed to survive, the birth of undernourished infants without access to adequate healthcare, and the death of children due to malnutrition and lack of water. She emphasized the critical necessity for immediate humanitarian aid to support the innocent Palestinian population.
Vice President Kamala Harris is set to engage in talks with Benny Gantz, a key figure in Israel’s war cabinet, during his visit to Washington. The discussions will focus on exploring the feasibility of a ceasefire and enhancing humanitarian support for Gaza. Harris has indicated that a proposal is already on the table and has urged Hamas to accept it. Her primary objectives include facilitating the reunion of hostages with their families and ensuring the swift delivery of aid to the residents of Gaza. Additionally, Harris has called on the Israeli government to significantly step up its efforts to improve the delivery of humanitarian aid, stating that there should be no excuses for inaction.
At a commemoration event in Selma, Alabama, for Bloody Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris called for decisive action, echoing President Joe Biden’s pledge to support innocent Palestinians in distress. This statement came in the context of a wide-ranging operation by the Israeli military against Hamas, initiated after Hamas gunmen launched an attack that led to the tragic loss of around 1,200 lives in southern Israel and the abduction of 253 individuals to Gaza.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, since then, at least 30,410 people, including 21,000 children and women, have been killed in Gaza, with thousands missing and many more injured. Dr. Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, explained the difficulty in providing Israel with a complete list of surviving hostages due to the Israeli bombardment and blockage.
Harris condemned Hamas as a brutal terrorist organization that has shown no regard for innocent life. She stressed that Hamas cannot control Gaza, and it is crucial to address the immediate needs of the people and work towards a lasting solution. The United Kingdom, the United States, and their Western allies classify Hamas as a terrorist organization with Iranian backing.
