US Vice-President Kamala Harris, anticipated to be the Democratic nominee for November’s presidential election, described her talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “frank and constructive.”
Taking a firmer stance than President Joe Biden, Harris expressed her “serious concerns” about casualties in Gaza, emphasizing to Netanyahu that the manner in which Israel defends itself is significant.
“It is time for this war to end,” she said after their face-to-face talks at the White House.
Ms. Harris emphasized the importance of establishing a path to a two-state solution and urged Americans to understand the complexities of the conflict.
Earlier on Thursday, Mr. Netanyahu met with Mr. Biden, who had stepped down from his re-election campaign on Sunday.
Mr. Netanyahu’s meetings at the White House followed a passionate speech to Congress, where he promised “total victory” against Hamas, while thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated outside.
The prime minister is under pressure both domestically and internationally to end the Israel-Gaza war, which has been ongoing for nine months.
Mr. Biden’s strong support for Israel has angered many left-wing activists, whose backing the Democrats might need to win the presidential election in November.
This has led to significant interest in Ms. Harris’s stance towards Israel, should she succeed Mr. Biden in the White House.
After a 40-minute meeting with Mr. Netanyahu, Ms. Harris reaffirmed her “unwavering commitment” to Israel and its right to self-defense.
She highlighted that the conflict started on October 7 when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel from Gaza, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages, according to Israeli reports.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has resulted in over 39,000 deaths.
“Israel has a right to defend itself. And how it does so matters,” Ms Harris said, expressing concern about the “dire humanitarian situation” in Gaza.
“We cannot allow ourselves to be numb to the suffering and I will not be silent,” she said.
“Let’s get the deal done so we can get a ceasefire to end the war,” she added. “Let’s bring the hostages home, and let’s bring much-needed relief to the Palestinian people.”
Mr Netanyahu is due to meet Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Friday.
As he met Mr Biden earlier, the prime minister said he had known him for 40 years – and that the US president had known every Israeli premier over the last half a century.
“From a proud Jewish Zionist to a proud Irish-American Zionist, I want to thank you for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the state of Israel,” he said.
Mr. Netanyahu also expressed his anticipation of collaborating with Mr. Biden “on the great issues before us” in the coming months.
The US president lightheartedly remarked that Golda Meir was the first Israeli prime minister he had met and that her successor, Yitzhak Rabin, had been present as an assistant.
During a news briefing, White House national security spokesman John Kirby stated that Mr. Biden and Mr. Netanyahu had discussed several critical issues, including the urgent need for a hostage release deal, the potential for conflict to extend into Lebanon, the threat posed by Iran, and the necessity of reaching “compromises” in peace negotiations.
While Mr. Kirby acknowledged that “gaps remain” in the US-Israel relationship, he emphasized that it remains “healthy.”
“By healthy, I mean they’re not going to agree on everything,” Mr Kirby said, adding that Mr Biden was “very comfortable with the relationship he has with the prime minister”.
The US and Israeli leaders also held a closed-door meeting with the families of seven US citizens still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
Following the meeting, Jonathan Dekel-Chen – whose son Sagui was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on 7 October – told reporters that the meeting was “productive and honest”. He did not provide further details.
“We feel probably more optimistic than we have since the first round of releases in late November, early December,” he said.