Harris criticized Israel for the high civilian casualties in Gaza post-meeting, which Israeli officials fear may disrupt ongoing hostage negotiations with Hamas.
Harris and Netanyahu met after President Joe Biden welcomed the Israeli leader to the Oval Office. Biden and Netanyahu also met with the families of eight US hostages currently held in Gaza.
“To everyone who has been calling for a cease-fire, and to everyone who yearns for peace, I see you and I hear you. 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. 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,” Harris said after Netanyahu left the White House.
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Expressing concern that Harris’ remarks might have upset Netanyahu and could potentially disrupt negotiations with Hamas, one Israeli official told Axios, “We hope that Harris’ public criticism of Israel won’t give Hamas the impression that there is daylight between the US and Israel and as a result make it harder to get a deal.”
The earlier meeting between Netanyahu and Biden reportedly focused extensively on discussing the Gaza hostages and a potential cease-fire. This meeting was described as more productive in progressing towards a possible deal.
Approximately 40 minutes after their meeting, Harris made a public statement condemning the civilian casualties and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“I also expressed with the prime minister my serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians. And I made clear my serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there with over 2 million people facing high levels of food insecurity and half a million people facing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity,” Harris said.
Harris did not fail to condemn Hamas in her statement. “On October 7, Hamas triggered this war when it massacred 1,200 innocent people, including 44 Americans. Hamas has committed horrific acts of sexual violence and took 250 hostages,” she said.
Harris named several American citizens currently trapped in Gaza. “There are American citizens who remain captive in Gaza: Sagui Dekel-Chen, Hersch Goldberg-Polin, Edan Alexander, Keith Seigel, Omer Neutra,” and affirmed that “President Biden and I are working every day to bring them home.”
In showing continued support for Israel, Harris pledged unwavering support for Israel’s right to defend itself.
“I told [Netanyahu] that I will always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself including from Iran and Iran-backed militias, such as Hamas and Hezbollah. From when I was a young girl, collecting funds to plant trees for Israel, to my time in the United States Senate and now at the White House, I’ve had an unwavering commitment to the existence of the State of Israel, to its security and to the people of Israel.”
The official noted that overall, the meeting with Harris was not “tense or difficult”, although it did not appear to be as productive as Netanyahu’s discussion with Biden.
