WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday that she had a “frank and constructive” meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House that included her concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the need to finalize a cease-fire deal.
“What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating,” Harris told reporters after the meeting. “We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent.”
Harris said she would “always” ensure Israel’s ability to defend itself and pointed to what she described as a “hopeful movement” in talks to secure a cease-fire. She said she told the prime minister during their meeting that “it is time to get this deal done.”
“Let’s get the deal done so we can get a cease-fire to end the war. Let’s bring the hostages home, and let’s provide much-needed relief to the Palestinian people. And ultimately, I remain committed to a path forward that can lead to a two-state solution,” Harris said.
She did not take any questions from reporters after giving her remarks.
Netanyahu’s office posted on X about the meeting, which included a photo of the two leaders shaking hands at the White House. The Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night on the meeting.
The sit-down took on higher stakes amid the 2024 election shakeup, as Harris runs for president following President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race. Harris missed Netanyahu’s speech before a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday because of a previously scheduled event in Indianapolis. Typically, the vice president presides over joint addresses.
Hours earlier, Biden hosted the Israeli leader in the Oval Office for a bilateral meeting and the two leaders met for roughly an hour with families of American hostages held hostage in Gaza.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office before the meeting, Netanyahu had thanked Biden for his 50 years of public service and his support of the state of Israel.
“Mr. President, we’ve known each other for 40 years, and you’ve known every Israeli prime minister for 50 years from Golda Meir. So from a proud Jewish Zionist to a proud Irish American Zionist, I want to thank you for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said.
Biden offered only a few words in response before the media left, recalling meeting with Meir and joking that he was “only 12 when it happened.”
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son Hersh Goldberg-Polin is among an estimated 120 hostages held by Hamas after its terrorist attack on Oct. 7, told reporters after meeting with the two leaders that she thinks Biden’s decision to step aside in the 2024 race allows him to be “laser-focused” on bringing the hostages home.
“I think not having to worry about all the things surrounding a re-election allows him the freedom to focus on this. And we wish him godspeed in that task,” Goldberg said.
Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of another hostage, Sagui Dekel-Chen, said the families obtained an “absolute commitment” from Biden and Netanyahu that they “understand the urgency of this moment now, to waste no time, and to complete this deal as it currently stands, with as little change as humanly possible within it.”
Thursday marked the first time Biden and Netanyahu have met in person since Biden visited Israel shortly after Oct. 7.
A senior administration official told reporters Wednesday that Biden planned to discuss his “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, the very serious threats from Iran and from Iranian proxy and terrorist groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis.”
The official said the two leaders were expected to speak “in depth” about developments in Gaza, including efforts to reach a cease-fire agreement and the humanitarian crisis. The administration believes that a deal “is in the closing stages and it’s reaching a point that we believe a deal is closable, and it’s time to move to close that agreement,” the official said.
The White House has not published a readout of the Biden-Netanyahu meeting.
Harris has been engaged on the Israel-Gaza conflict for the last 10 months, the same official said, including participating in every call with Netanyahu, as well as critical meetings like those with hostage families.
“There will obviously be no daylight between the president and the vice president,” the official said, referring to their respective meetings with Netanyahu.
During a briefing Thursday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Biden was working with Netanyahu to fill gaps tied to striking a cease-fire deal.
Asked whether Biden believed that Netanyahu wants to strike a cease-fire deal and that he is capable and willing to bridge the gaps, Kirby said: “Yes, yes and yes. He has said so publicly himself. He wants to get the hostages home and the Israelis, the government, Prime Minister Netanyahu, has been working with us to try to get that deal over the finish line.”
In his speech before Congress, Netanyahu thanked Biden “for his tireless efforts on behalf of the hostages and for his efforts to the hostage families, as well.”
Netanyahu also thanked Biden for his leadership in his speech.
“I thank President Biden for his heartfelt support for Israel after the savage attack on Oct. 7,” Netanyahu said. “He rightly called Hamas ‘sheer evil.’ He dispatched two aircraft carriers to the Middle East to deter a wider war. And he came to Israel to stand with us during our darkest hour — a visit that will never be forgotten.”
“President Biden and I have known each other for over 40 years,” he continued. “I want to thank him for half a century of friendship to Israel and for being, as he says, a proud Zionist. Actually, he says, a proud Irish American Zionist.”
Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
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