US Vice President Kamala Harris has called for an "immediate" six-week ceasefire in Gaza, saying "too many innocent Palestinians have been killed."
In her speech, she firmly pushed for Israel to increase aid flow to alleviate what she described as "inhumane" conditions and a "humanitarian catastrophe" among the Palestinian people.
So far, Harris has made the most forceful call for Israel to "ceasefire" among American politicians, who have avoided calling for one. Israel has reiterated a number of times a 'ceasefire' is contingent on the release of hostages and the full surrender of Hamas.
Speaking in Selma, Alabama, on the anniversary of the civil rights march known as "Bloody Sunday," Vice President Harris urged for a halt to Hamas' ongoing conflict with Israel as official talks broke down last week.
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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, tonight (AFP via Getty Images)“Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire,” Harris begins, causing the crowd in Selma to erupt in applause, before she could finish her sentence, adding: “for at least the next six weeks, which is what currently is on the table."
Harris piled the pressure on Israeli officials and Hamas leaders that are currently attempting to negotiate a negotiation - however, Israel has reportedly boyotted the latest truce talks in Egypt, where Hamas has sent a delegation, after Israeli officials said Hamas failed to provide a list of live hostages.
While other US politicians have commented on the widespread hunger in Gaza, they're avoided using the term 'ceasefire' (AFP via Getty Images)"This is what will get the hostages out and a significant amount of aid in," Harris told the crowd. "This would allow us to build something more enduring to ensure Israel is secure and to respect the right of the Palestinian people to dignity, freedom and self determination," the vice president says.
After Israeli forces fired into a crowd last week, causing over 100 deaths, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, during a delivery of aid, the U.S. stepped in to air-drop aid.
A boy walks past a truck carrying humanitarian aid that was hit in a reported Israeli airstrike on the main coastal road (AFP via Getty Images)Israel has now followed suit, announcing that they'll be air-dropping aid packages. The Defense Ministry also sent 50 incubators for Gaza hospitals. Israel has faced mounting pressure to stop the bombing and increase aid to offset starvation in the region.
Truce talks are set to resume tomorrow. A senior U.S. administration official said Saturday that Israel has essentially endorsed a framework of a proposed Gaza cease-fire and hostage release deal, and it is now up to Hamas to agree to it. But it's unclear if talks will go on.
Vice President Kamala Harris called for an 'immediate ceasefire'... for at least six weeks (Anadolu via Getty Images)Harris is slated to meet with visiting war cabinet Minister Benny Gantz in Washington tomorrow, although this meeting struck a chord with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Reportedly, Netanyahu is now boycotting his own meetings with Gantz. Gantz is Netanyahu’s main political rival in opinion polls. However, both leaders have announced that their respective goals match: to wage war until the end of Hamas.
While Harris and Joe Biden have both come out to Alabama on "Bloody Sunday" in the past, they've historically used the moment to stress the importance of voting rights and decry what they called Republican-led efforts to undermine them.
Children pose for a picture at a stand selling flatbread in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza (AFP via Getty Images)This also adds tension between Biden and Netanyahu. Netanyahu has faced endless months-long protests against his right-wing reign, even before the horrific attacks on October 7th last year. Biden was recently caught saying that Israeli's "incredibly conservative government," is costing them international support.
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"Bloody Sunday" was a significant day in Black history when, on March 7, 1965, white state troopers attacked Black voting rights marchers attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
The images of violence at the bridge, originally named for a Confederate general, shocked the nation and helped galvanize support for passage of the Voting Rights Act, which struck down impediments to voting by African-Americans and ended all-white rule in the American South.
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