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WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday that she had a “frank and constructive” meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House which included his concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the need to finalize a ceasefire agreement.
“What has happened in Gaza in the last nine months is devastating,” Harris told reporters after the meeting. “We cannot look away in front of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to suffering, and I will not remain silent.”
Harris said he would “always” ensure Israel’s ability to defend itself and pointed to what he described as a “movement of hope” in talks to secure a ceasefire. She said she told the prime minister during their meeting that “it’s time to get this deal done.”
“Let’s finalize the deal so we can get a ceasefire to end the war. Let’s bring the hostages home, and give much-needed relief to the Palestinian people. And finally, I remain committed to a path forward that can bring to a two-state solution,” Harris said.
He did not take any questions from reporters after giving his remarks.
Netanyahu’s office published on X about the meeting, which included a photo of the two leaders shaking hands at the White House. The Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night about the meeting.
The sit-down took off on the highest stakes amid the 2024 election stakes, as Harris runs for president following President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race. Harris missed Netanyahu’s speech before a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday because of a previously scheduled event in Indianapolis. Typically, the vice president presides over joint addresses.
Hours earlier, Biden welcomed the Israeli leader to the Oval Office for a bilateral meeting and the two leaders met for about an hour with families of American hostages held hostage in Gaza.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office before the meeting, Netanyahu had thanked Biden for his 50 years of public service and his support for the state of Israel.
“Mr. President, we have known each other for 40 years, and you have known every Israeli prime minister for 50 years since Golda Meir. So 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,” Netanyahu said.
Biden offered only a few words in response before the media left, recalling the meeting with Meir and joking that he was “only 12 years old when it happened.”
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son Hersh Goldberg-Polin is among about 120 hostages held by Hamas after its October 7 terror attack, told reporters after the meeting with the two leaders that she thinks the decision to Biden to drop out of the 2024 race allows. that he is “laser focused” on bringing the hostages home.
“I think that he should not worry about all the things that surround a re-election allows him the freedom to focus on it. And we want the god in this task,” said Goldberg.
Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of another hostage, Sagui Dekel-Chen, said the families had gotten an “absolute commitment” from Biden and Netanyahu that they “understand the urgency of this moment now, to not waste time, and to complete this stretch”. as it is at present, with the least possible human change in it.”
Thursday marked the first time Biden and Netanyahu to get meet in person since Biden visited Israel shortly after October 7.
A senior administration official told reporters Wednesday that Biden planned to discuss his “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, the very serious threats from Iran and Iranian proxies and terrorist groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis.”
The official said the two leaders were expected to talk “in depth” about developments in Gaza, including efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement and the humanitarian crisis. The administration believes a deal “is in the closing stages and it’s getting to a point where it believes a deal is closed, and it’s time to move to close that deal,” the official said.
The White House has not released a readout of the Biden-Netanyahu meeting.
Harris has been engaged in the Israel-Gaza conflict for the past 10 months, the same official said, including participating in every call with Netanyahu, as well as critical meetings such as those with hostage families.
“There will obviously be no daylight between the president and the vice president,” the official said, referring to their respective meetings with Netanyahu.
During a briefing Thursday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Biden was working with Netanyahu to fill gaps related to a cease-fire agreement.
Asked if Biden believed that Netanyahu wants to strike a cease-fire agreement and that he is able and willing to close the gaps, Kirby said: “Yes, yes and yes. He has said so publicly himself. He wants to restore the hostages at home and Israel, the government, Prime Minister Netanyahu, worked with us to try to get that agreement over the finish line.”
In his speech before Congress, Netanyahu thanked Biden “for his tireless efforts on behalf of the hostages and also for his efforts to the families of the hostages.”
Netanyahu also thanked Biden for his leadership in his speech.
“I thank President Biden for his sincere support for Israel after the brutal attack on October 7,” Netanyahu said. “He just called Hamas ‘pure evil.'” He sent two aircraft carriers to the Middle East to deter a wider war and came to Israel to stand with us during our darkest hour – a visit he will never forget.
“President Biden and I have known each other for over 40 years,” he continued. “I want to thank him for half a century of friendship to Israel and for being, as he says, a proud Zionist. Actually, he says, a proud Irish American Zionist.”
Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.