‘I Won’t Stay Silent On Gaza Suffering’ – Kamala Harris

US Vice President Kamala Harris says she would not be “silent” on Gaza’s suffering while simultaneously promoting her pro-Israel credentials, in remarks made shortly after visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Her words sparked strong Israeli concerns that they could jeopardise efforts to achieve an agreement with the Hamas terror group to rescue captives and end the war in Gaza.

Speaking to reporters after what she called a “frank and constructive” meeting with Netanyahu at the White House, Harris said it was time to end the “devastating” war sparked by the Hamas terror group’s brutal October 7 attack on Israel, in comments that some saw as a sign of a possible shift in Washington’s stance as Harris plots her own path as the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate.

“What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating. The images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time,” Harris told reporters.

“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.”

Netanyahu, who has been in Washington since Monday, met separately with US President Joe Biden and Harris at the White House on Thursday. He was also scheduled to meet with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Friday.

In an address to the US Congress on Wednesday, Netanyahu emphasised the necessity for a “total victory” over Hamas.

In her press conference following the Netanyahu meeting, Kamala Harris also stated that “Israel has the right to defend itself.” “And how it does so is important.”

The vice president stated that she stressed Netanyahu on the “dire” situation in Gaza during their 40-minute discussion in Washington, emphasising the urgency of striking an agreement to liberate hostages and end the conflict.

Harris said she “expressed with the prime minister my serious concern about the scale of human suffering and Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians. And I made clear my serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there.”

Harris stated that there has been “hopeful movement in the talks to secure” a hostage settlement, which she believes will end the war and open the road for Palestinian statehood.

“As I just told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done.”

“It is time for this war to end, and end in a way where Israel is secure, all the hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity and self-determination,” Harris said.

Harris again emphasised pro-Israel arguments in her remarks, calling Hamas a “brutal terror organisation” that sparked the present conflict with its October 7 attack, which included “horrific acts of sexual violence.”

The vice president made a point of reading out the names of all eight American-Israeli hostages still being held captive by Hamas, which no other US official has done.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli