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Israel-Hamas war: Kamala Harris questions Netanyahu on the crisis in Gaza

Vice President Kamala Harris, right, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive before a meeting at the Eisenhower   -  
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Julia Nikhinson/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved.

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At the White House on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the US Vice-President and now Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris. The politician told Netanyahu of her ‘deep concern’ over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

In Washington, demonstrators gathered outside the White House to protest against the war in Gaza as the Israeli Prime Minister met with US Vice President Kamala Harris.

During their meeting, Mrs Harris told Netanyahu of her ‘deep concern’ about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

‘We cannot turn a blind eye to these tragedies. We cannot afford to become insensitive to the suffering, and I will not be silent’, she declared.

This is Netanyahu's first visit to the White House since 2020. It comes in the wake of a controversial speech in which he promised ‘total victory’ over Hamas and described American opponents of the war in Gaza as ‘idiots’.

He also said that an Israeli ‘victory’ would also be a victory for the United States, urging its main ally to release further military aid.

Mr Netanyahu's meeting with Mrs Harris followed a meeting with outgoing President Joe Biden, who is pressing for Israel and Hamas to sign a ceasefire agreement before he leaves office in January.

With negotiations stagnating for weeks, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres sounded the alarm, describing the humanitarian situation in Gaza as ‘total anarchy’.

‘We are in a situation of total anarchy. A situation where the law and the rules have completely disappeared. No one is in charge of security in Gaza. So we are seeing convoys being looted at every moment’, warned the UN secretary.

Since the start of the nine-month war, more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza after a Hamas-led attack in southern Israel killed 1,200 people.

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