Harris tells top Israeli politician US wants six-week Gaza ceasefire in return for Hamas hostage deal

Vice President Kamala Harris has reiterated the Biden administration’s call for a six-week ceasefire in Israel’s months-old war as she met with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz at the White House.

According to a readout of the Monday meeting released by her office, Ms Harris “reiterated US support for Israel’s right to defend itself in the face of ongoing Hamas terrorist threats” as well as what the White House described as America’s “unwavering commitment to Israel’s security”.

She “expressed her deep concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza and the recent horrific tragedy around an aid convoy in northern Gaza” and discussed the “urgency of achieving a hostage deal” while praising Israel’s “constructive” approach to the hostage and ceasefire talks with Hamas.

Ms Harris also “called on Hamas to accept the terms on the table whereby the release of hostages would result in an immediate six-week ceasefire and enable a surge of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza,” the White House said.

The vice president’s sit-down with Mr Gantz, a member of the Israeli opposition who joined the Likud-led government in a unity war cabinet after the 7 October terror attacks by Hamas, came less than 24 hours after she became the second top US official to call for an “immediate ceasefire” in the months-old conflict, which has killed approximately 30,000 Palestinian civilians according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

In remarks delivered in Selma, Alabama on Sunday, Ms Harris decried the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and called on both Israel and Hamas to accept the six-week ceasefire being proposed.

“[G]iven the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire — for at least the next