US Vice President Kamala Harris demands an urgent six-week cease-fire in Gaza

As she urged the Israeli government to “do more” to improve the flow of supplies in the war-torn enclave, US Vice President Kamala Harris called for an urgent truce in Gaza to last for at least the next six weeks.

During a speech in Selma, Alabama, on Sunday, Harris issued the cease-fire order in honor of Bloody Sunday, the yearly commemoration of the historic civil rights struggle, which is marking its 59th anniversary.

Harris, 59, said, “Given the tremendous amount 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. The threat Hamas poses to the people of Israel must be eliminated.”

This will free the captives and provide a substantial amount of assistance. The crowd applauded as the Indian-American leader said, “This would allow us to build something more enduring to ensure Israel is more secure and to respect the right of the Palestinian people to dignity, freedom, and self-determination.”

“Hamas says it’s in favor of a cease-fire. A deal is, in fact, on the table. Furthermore, Hamas must accept that agreement, as we have said. Let’s agree to a stop-fire. Let us bring the captives’ families back together. The Democrat Harris said, “And let’s give the people of Gaza immediate relief.”

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, who is Indian-American, responded to the call right away.

“The Vice President has demanded an immediate end to hostilities and the delivery of vital supplies to Gaza. The government is using this language for the first time. It is crucial. Let’s now support it with a change in policy, the 58-year-old Democratic legislator said.

Harris remarked, “What we are seeing in Gaza on a daily basis is devastating,” in reference to the humanitarian disaster there. Reports of families eating leaves or animal feed, mothers giving birth to undernourished infants with little to no medical attention, and youngsters passing away from starvation and dehydration have all been witnessed.

“Just a few days ago, we saw hungry, desperate people approach aid trucks, simply trying to secure food for their families after weeks of nearly no aid reaching Northern Gaza,” she stated, asserting that too many innocent Palestinians had died.

And they encountered turmoil and gunshots. The crowd applauded Harris as she remarked, “Our hearts break for the victims of that horrific tragedy and for all the innocent people in Gaza who are suffering from what is clearly a humanitarian catastrophe.”

“People in Gaza are going hungry.” The circumstances are cruel. And we are compelled to act by our shared humanity. The United States is dedicated to providing additional life-saving relief to innocent Palestinians in need as President Joe Biden said on Friday, she added.

“The United States will continue these airdrops of humanitarian aid, which were conducted by the Department of Defense yesterday. And we’re going to work on finding a new way to distribute relief by water,” she said.

Furthermore, more has to be done by the Israeli government to greatly boost assistance flow. Make no excuses. New border crossings need to be opened. They must refrain from placing needless limitations on the distribution of assistance. They have to make sure that installations, convoys, and humanitarian workers are not attacked. In order for more food, water, and gasoline to reach people in need, they also need to endeavor to bring back essential services and foster order in Gaza, according to Harris.

Harris said that Israel has the right to self-defense at the same moment. She said, “And President Joe Biden and I are steadfast in our dedication to Israel’s security.”

A day earlier, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., the Central Command and the Royal Jordanian Air Force jointly dropped humanitarian aid into Gaza in order to provide much-needed relief to the population impacted by the continuous fighting.

38,000 meals were dropped by several C-130 aircraft around the Gaza shoreline, enabling civilian access to vital aid.

And we deliberately selected those places based on our assessment of where individuals would be most able to get the assistance. In order to lessen the extreme hunger and dire circumstances in Gaza, 66 bundles—22 on each aircraft—were dropped into the region, a senior administration official said reporters during a conference call.