WASHINGTON: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will meet Israeli wartime cabinet minister Benny Gantz at the White House on Monday as the U.S. administration seeks to broker a temporary ceasefire and increase aid flows to Gaza.
The talks are expected to include reducing Palestinian civilian casualties, securing a temporary ceasefire, freeing hostages held in the Gaza Strip and increasing aid to the region, a White House official said.
“The Vice President will express her concern over the safety of the as many as 1.5 million people in Rafah,” said the official. He further said that Israel also had a “right to defend itself in the face of continued Hamas terrorist threats.”
Gantz confirmed in a statement that he would meet with Harris, as well as with U.S. Republicans and Democrats in the US Congress, together with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
“Minister Gantz personally updated the prime minister on his own initiative on Friday of his intention to travel, in order to coordinate the messages to be transmitted in the meetings,” the statement said.
Gantz, a former Israeli military commander and defence minister, is the main political opponent of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the polls. His trip to Washington risks upsetting Netanyahu, who has faced criticism from US President Joe Biden.
In December, Biden revealed a rift in his relationship with the Israeli prime minister, saying Israel was losing support because of the “indiscriminate” bombing of Gaza and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needed to change.
White House officials said Harris and Gantz will also discuss plans to rehabilitate Gaza under the Palestinian Authority after the war.
The US military launched its first humanitarian aid drop into Gaza on Saturday, and aid agencies warned of a growing humanitarian disaster in the enclave as Israel continues its offensive.
Gaza health officials said 118 people were killed in Thursday’s attack, which they blamed on Israel and called it a massacre. Israel disputes these figures, saying most of the victims were trampled or run over.
Israel launched the attack in response to an October 7 attack by Palestinian militants that killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 253 others in Israel, according to Israeli figures.
International pressure for a ceasefire is mounting, with Israeli attacks on Gaza killing more than 30,000 Palestinians and the United Nations warning that a quarter of the population is on the brink of starvation.
The United States and other countries expect a temporary truce to help with aid, but Biden said on Friday he hoped the truce would last until Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month that begins March 10.
Gaza ceasefire talks are set to resume in Cairo on Sunday, two Egyptian security sources said Saturday, but Israeli news outlets said Israel would not be represented until it received a full list of surviving Israeli hostages.
