US Vice President Calls For 'Immediate Ceasefire' In Gaza

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- AFP
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- AFP
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US Vice President Calls For 'Immediate Ceasefire' In Gaza

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- AFP
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- AFP

US Vice President Kamala Harris called Sunday for a proposed six-week ceasefire deal in the Israel-Hamas war to be accepted, while criticizing Israel over insufficient aid deliveries into Gaza.

"Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table," Harris said during a speech in Selma, Alabama.

Her comments were the strongest to date by a US administration official on Israel since the war started, as President Joe Biden comes under acute pressure over his support for Israel and the civilian death toll in Gaza soars, AFP reported.

A senior US official said Saturday that Israel had broadly accepted the deal, which would see a six-week cessation of hostilities if Hamas agrees to release the most vulnerable hostages it holds.

The deal "will get the hostages out and get a significant amount of aid in," Harris said, calling on Hamas to accept the deal.

"Hamas claims it wants a ceasefire. Well, there is a deal on the table. And as we have said, Hamas needs to agree to that deal."

In unusually strong language, Harris called on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take steps to increase aid into Gaza.

"The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses," Harris said.

She added that Israel "must open new border crossings" and "must not impose any unnecessary restrictions on the delivery of aid."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made similar remarks in a post on X, saying "It is imperative that we expand the flow of aid into Gaza to alleviate the dire humanitarian situation."

He added: "People urgently need more food, water, and other assistance. That's why the US is working to get more aid in through every available channel, including air drops." These started Saturday.

Harris is due to meet with Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Israel's war cabinet, in Washington on Monday.

"The vice president's meeting is part of our continued efforts to engage with a wide range of Israeli officials on the war in Gaza and planning for the day after," a White House official said Sunday.

The former Israeli military chief, a longtime rival of Netanyahu, will also meet White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan and Blinken, according to US officials.

"Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed," Harris said, highlighting the deaths on Thursday in chaotic scenes around a convoy of aid trucks.

People "simply trying to secure food for their families after weeks of nearly no aid reaching northern Gaza... were met with gunfire and chaos," said Harris, adding: "Our hearts break for the victims of that horrific tragedy."

Harris delivered her remarks at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where a march by hundreds of peaceful activists was violently suppressed by police on March 7, 1965.



US Mideast Envoy: Trump's Gaza Plan is About Better Prospects, Not Eviction

MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 20: Steven Charles Witkoff, Middle East Envoy, Government of the United States, speaks during the second day of the FII PRIORITY Summit held at the Faena Hotel on February 20, 2025 in Miami Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 20: Steven Charles Witkoff, Middle East Envoy, Government of the United States, speaks during the second day of the FII PRIORITY Summit held at the Faena Hotel on February 20, 2025 in Miami Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
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US Mideast Envoy: Trump's Gaza Plan is About Better Prospects, Not Eviction

MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 20: Steven Charles Witkoff, Middle East Envoy, Government of the United States, speaks during the second day of the FII PRIORITY Summit held at the Faena Hotel on February 20, 2025 in Miami Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 20: Steven Charles Witkoff, Middle East Envoy, Government of the United States, speaks during the second day of the FII PRIORITY Summit held at the Faena Hotel on February 20, 2025 in Miami Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP

The United States' envoy to the Middle East said on Thursday that President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza was not about evicting Palestinians, and the conversation about Gaza's future was being shifted towards how to create a better future for Palestinians.
Trump proposed on February 4 the US should take over Gaza, with Palestinians resettled in other places including Egypt and Jordan, a suggestion which caused an international outcry.
However, speaking at a Miami conference hosted by a non-profit, US envoy Steven Witkoff said that Trump's comments on Gaza were more about trying different solutions to those proposed over the previous 50 years, Reuters reported.
He said that the war between Israel and Hamas has left much of Gaza destroyed and littered with unexploded ordnance, and it was impossible to see how people could return.
"It's going to take a lot of clean-up and imagination, and a great master plan, and that doesn't mean we're on an eviction plan, when the President talks about this," Steven Witkoff told the FII Institute event.
"It means he wants to shake up everyone's thinking, and think about what is compelling and what is the best solution for the Palestinian people.
"For instance, do they want to live in a home there, or would they rather have an opportunity to resettle in some sort of better place, to have jobs, upside and financial prospects," he added.