US Vice President calls for ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Gaza

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, one of the Biden administration’s strongest calls yet for an end to the war.

“Given the immense suffering in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire is necessary,” Harris said at an event in Selma, Alabama, marking a major civil rights anniversary.

The U.S. government has been working with Egypt and Qatar to mediate a six-week pause in fighting to free the remaining hostages held by Hamas and expand aid to Gaza, where the United Nations has warned of looming famine.

Speaking at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Harris said the people of Gaza are starving. 59 years ago, state police beat American civil rights marchers here, known as “Bloody Sunday.”

“Conditions are inhumane and our shared humanity compels us to act,” she said. “The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase aid flows. There are no excuses.”

On Saturday, a joint U.S. and Jordanian air force airdropped 38,000 meals along Gaza’s coastline. A senior U.S. official said the airdrop would be part of an “ongoing effort” with international partners to expand humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Humanitarians use airdrops as a last resort because they are expensive, complex to operate and cannot deliver the volume of aid that trucks can.

Harris’ call comes ahead of a meeting at the White House on Monday with Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet.

“The threat Hamas poses to the people of Israel must be eliminated,” Harris told the crowd in Selma.

A White House official said the talks were expected to focus on Palestinian civilian casualties, securing a temporary ceasefire, releasing hostages and increasing aid to the enclave.

“The vice president will express her concerns for the safety of up to 1.5 million people in Rafah,” the official said, adding that Israel “has the right to defend itself against the ongoing terrorist threat from Hamas.”

Gantz confirmed in a statement that he would meet with Harris, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Republican and Democratic members of Congress.

ceasefire negotiations

A Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Sunday to discuss a possible weeks-long ceasefire to end nearly five months of war with Israel. But Israeli media reported that Israeli mediators boycotted the talks after Hamas refused to provide a full list of hostages still alive.

The Biden administration has said it hopes to reach a ceasefire before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins around March 10.

The deal would bring the first long pause in fighting since a week-long truce in late November. Under the proposed terms, dozens of the remaining 100 hostages held by Hamas would be released in exchange for Israel releasing hundreds of Palestinians.

A U.S. official told reporters, “The path to a ceasefire at this point is actually very simple. And there is an agreement on the table. There is a framework agreement.”

Israel has vowed to end the threat of another Hamas attack, such as the October 7 terror attack on the Jewish state that killed 1,200 people. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, Israel’s counterattack has killed more than 30,000 people in Gaza, about 70% of whom were women and children.

If an armistice agreement is reached, humanitarian aid to Gaza will be expanded even as the situation becomes increasingly dire. The health ministry said at least 16 children had died from malnutrition in recent days as “famine” spread across the north.

Meanwhile, fighting continued, with the Health Ministry reporting that at least 90 Palestinians were killed in the final day, including 14 family members whose homes in the southern Rafah refugee camp were attacked.

Information for this report was provided in part by The Associated Press, AFP and Reuters.