Kamala Harris to Meet with Israeli Defense Minister Following Call for 'Immediate Ceasefire'

Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States, will meet with Benny Gantz, Israel's Defense Minister, at the White House on Monday, March 5, just one day after a serious call for a ceasefire in Gaza. A White House official stated that the discussions will focus on the civilian casualties in Gaza, securing a temporary ceasefire, the release of hostages, and increasing humanitarian aid to the besieged region. The official emphasized Israel's right to 'defend itself against Hamas's terrorist threats' while also noting that 'the Vice President expresses her concern for the safety of over 1.5 million people in Rafah.' Gantz also stated that he would meet with Kamala Harris, Jake Sullivan, the White House National Security Advisor, and some Republican and Democratic lawmakers. On Sunday, during a civil rights commemoration event in Selma, Alabama, Kamala Harris described the situation in Gaza as a 'humanitarian disaster' and said, 'Given the scale of suffering in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire must be established.' She pointed out that 'people in Gaza are dying of hunger and the conditions are inhumane,' urging the Israeli government to 'make greater efforts to increase the flow of aid to civilians without any excuses.' However, she stressed that 'the threat posed by Hamas to the people of Israel must be eliminated.' On Saturday, U.S. and Jordanian air forces conducted a joint operation, dropping 38,000 meals as the first shipment of U.S. humanitarian aid to Gaza along the Gaza coast, and these 'air drops' will continue as part of a 'sustained effort' for humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, referred on Monday to cross-border conflicts between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, stating that doing anything to prevent a wider war is 'essential.' He also mentioned the Houthi militants' attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, saying these attacks have disrupted maritime trade and increased the prices of goods, significantly impacting developing countries. He also noted the serious risk of the conflict spreading to Yemen itself and the potential severe harm to the Yemeni people. The Biden administration had expressed hope to reach a temporary ceasefire agreement before the start of Ramadan on March 10. A Hamas delegation was also in Cairo on Sunday to indirectly negotiate with Israeli representatives mediated by Egypt and Qatar, but Israel stated it would not participate in negotiations until Hamas provides a complete list of surviving hostages. Nevertheless, the U.S. stated that diplomatic efforts to establish a ceasefire during Ramadan are ongoing. Following the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the taking of over 250 hostages, Israel launched an assault on Gaza aimed at destroying this Iran-backed militant group. Hamas officials have repeatedly emphasized that if capable, they would carry out such an attack again. Hamas claims that over 30,000 Palestinian residents of Gaza have been killed so far without mentioning the number of its own members killed as a result of Israel's assault on Gaza. Israel has repeatedly emphasized that Hamas uses Palestinian civilians as human shields. The Persian section of Voice of America cannot independently verify or confirm the statistics provided. The U.S., U.K., European Union, Japan, Israel, and several other countries around the world have listed Hamas as a terrorist organization.