Urges ceasefire

Harris addresses admonishing words to Netanyahu

Friendly gestures, but certainly tougher tones from Vice President Kamala Harris towards Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu(Bild: APA/AP)

At a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris urged a swift ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Referring to the humanitarian situation, Harris said: "We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb in the face of suffering." She will not remain silent, Harris said. 

Her words after a meeting with Netanyahu were promptly criticized by the Israeli government. The fact that Harris had spoken of a serious humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and the need to end the war had damaged the hostage negotiations, Israeli media quoted an unnamed senior Israeli official as saying. 

Netanyahu also meets Trump
For Harris, the meeting with Netanyahu was the first important test in her role as the Democrats' likely replacement candidate in the presidential election campaign. She wants to beat Republican Donald Trump in the US election on November 5 after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race. After Biden and Harris, Netanyahu is also planning a visit to Trump.

Netanyahu mannequin with bloody hands and prison clothes: On the streets of Washington D.C., the criticism of Israel's prime minister was much harsher and more explicit.(Bild: APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Anna Moneymaker)

Like Biden, Harris urged the Israeli head of government to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza and improve the protection of the civilian population. "Israel has the right to defend itself and it is important how it does so," said Biden's deputy after her meeting with Israel's head of government. She expressed her "grave concern about the extent of human suffering in the Gaza Strip". This includes the deaths of "too many innocent civilians", she said.

In a speech to both chambers of the US Congress on Wednesday, Netanyahu did not announce an agreement, contrary to the hopes of relatives of the 115 hostages remaining in Gaza, and instead rejected any criticism of the actions in the Gaza Strip.