US Vice President Kamala Harris met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today at the White House in Washington DC after Mr. Netanyahu met with US President Joe Biden. Ms. Harris urged the Israeli Prime Minister to reach a cease-fire deal soon with Hamas so that dozens of hostages held by the militants in Gaza can return home.
In a social media post, Vice President Harris said she had a frank and constructive conversation with Mr. Netanyahu in which she affirmed Israel’s right to defend itself but also expressed deep concern about the high death toll in Gaza over nine months of war. Ms. Harris is likely to be the Democratic presidential nominee after Mr Biden dropped out of the election race on Sunday.
Earlier, President Biden met with his Israeli counterpart. In a statement, the White House said that in their meeting, Mr. Biden told Mr. Netanyahu to close and finalise the remaining gaps in the cease-fire deal as soon as possible, bring the hostages home, and reach a durable end to the war in Gaza. Mr. Netanyahu will next meet Harris’ Republican rival, Donald Trump, on Friday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
