Kamala Harris tells Benjamin Netanyahu 'it is time' to end war in Gaza - BBC News
Benjamin Netanyahu visit to America
Benjamin Netanyahu visit to America
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00:00Meanwhile, the U.S. Vice President, Kamala Harris, has had what she describes as a frank
00:08and constructive meeting with the visiting Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
00:13In it, the Democratic presidential hopeful expressed her serious concern about Palestinian
00:20civilian casualties in Israel's war with Hamas.
00:23She also reiterated her unwavering commitment to the U.S. allies' security, but urged Mr.
00:29Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire deal.
00:32Let's hear some of what Kamala Harris had to say after the meeting.
00:36I have met with the families of these American hostages multiple times now, and I've told
00:42them each time they are not alone and I stand with them.
00:48And President Biden and I are working every day to bring them home.
00:54I also expressed with the Prime Minister my serious concern about the scale of human
01:00suffering in Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians.
01:07And I made clear my serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there, with
01:14over two million people facing high levels of food insecurity and half a million people
01:21facing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity.
01:27What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating.
01:32The images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes
01:40displaced for the second, third, or fourth time.
01:45We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies.
01:48We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent.
01:57It is time for this war to end, and end in a way where Israel is secure, all the hostages
02:04are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can
02:12exercise their right to freedom, dignity, and self-determination.
02:18There has been hopeful movement in the talks to secure an agreement on this deal.
02:24And as I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done.
02:30And North America correspondent David Wills gave us the latest from Washington.
02:35Benjamin Netanyahu met with both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris today, and the White House,
02:43in a readout of his meeting with Joe Biden, said that Mr. Biden called for a ceasefire
02:49in Gaza and for the release of the remaining hostages as soon as possible, as it put it.
02:57And Kamala Harris, as we just heard, went further than that, taking concern, registering
03:03her concern about the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and saying that the time had
03:09come to do a deal.
03:12And she also said to Mr. Netanyahu that she would not be silent about the suffering of
03:18the Palestinian people.
03:19Now, some here are taking that to mean that she may adopt a different stance, perhaps
03:26a more aggressive stance towards Israel than Joe Biden has done, should she be elected,
03:32of course, in the presidential election in November.
03:36Kamala Harris has been critical of the Israeli administration, most recently back in March.
03:43And a lot of people have been looking to see what she makes of Benjamin Netanyahu's visit
03:49these last few days as some sort of indication of how she would engage with the Israelis
03:56going forward.