WASHINGTON, July 26. /TASS/. US Vice President Kamala Harris told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he needs to strike a ceasefire agreement with Palestinian radical movement Hamas as soon as possible.
"So I’ve just had a frank and constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu," she told reporters. "I also expressed with the prime minister my serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the deaths of far too many innocent civilians."
"And I made clear my serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there, with over two million people facing high levels of food insecurity and half a million people facing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity," Harris continued.
She also expressed her support for the ceasefire plan earlier put forward by US President Joe Biden.
"I have just told Prime Minister Netanyuahu it is time to get this deal done," Harris said.
At the same time, the US vice president reiterated her support for the two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In turn, office of the Israeli prime minister said the meeting in the White House lasted around 40 minutes.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 240 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes have also been reported on the West Bank.
According to latest report, about 39 Palestinians were killed and over 90,100 wounded as a result of the Israeli operation. 70% of them are women and children.
On May 31, US President Joe Biden announced his three-phase Israel-Palestine ceasefire plan, with each phase lasting six weeks. The first stage envisages a complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated localities in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian inmates from Israeli prisons. Apart from that, the parties are supposed to begin talks during this stage, with the ceasefire staying in place until they reach an agreement. Phase two provides for the release of all surviving hostages, including the military. The third stage will see the beginning of the reconstruction of the war-torn Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu said his government supports the plan, while Hamas has been obstructing the deal.
Netanyahu travelled to the US capital on July 22 and addressed the US Congress on July 24. Former US President Donald Trump said he will meet with Netanyahu in Florida on July 26.