Middle-East

US Vice President Harris condemns Israel over Gaza humanitarian crisis

US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Edmund Pettus Bridge during an event to commemorate the 59th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday" in Selma, Alabama, on March 3, 2024. (Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP)

By Foreign Reporter | Monday, March 4, 2024

Harris called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept a deal to release hostages in return for a six-week cessation of hostilities.

US Vice President, Kamala Harris, speaking Sunday in front of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where state troopers beat US civil rights marchers nearly six decades ago, called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept a deal to release hostages in return for a six-week cessation of hostilities.

Harris directed her criticism to Israel in what appeared to be the sharpest rebuke yet by a senior leader in the US government over the conditions in Gaza.

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"People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane and our common humanity compels us to act. The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses," she said.

The vocal vice president said Israel must open new border crossings, not impose "unnecessary restrictions" on aid delivery, protect humanitarian personnel and convoys from becoming targets, and work to restore basic services and promote order so that "more food, water and fuel can reach those in need."

"We saw hungry, desperate people approach aid trucks simply trying to secure food for their family after weeks of barely any aid reaching northern Gaza and they were met with gunfire and chaos," she added.

Open new border crossings

Harris argued that Israel must open new border crossings.

"They must not impose any unnecessary restrictions on the delivery of aid. They must ensure humanitarian personnel, sites and convoys are not targeted, and they must work to restore basic services and promote order in Gaza, so more food, water and fuel can reach those in need," she said.

The VP also addressed Thursday's incident during which more than 100 Palestinians were killed as they tried to access food aid in Gaza City, saying that "too many innocent Palestinians have been killed".

"Our hearts break for the victims of that horrific tragedy," she said.

Her comments come as Biden is facing rising pressure from voters and the world over his support for Israel ahead of November's presidential polls.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that the food supply in besieged Gaza does not meet the needs of Palestinians and that if a famine is declared, "it is too late for too many people".

The UN and other humanitarian actors have not yet declared a state of famine in Gaza, despite worsening conditions in the Palestinian territory since the war started on October 7.