1 month ago
9
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate for November 2024 polls, Kamala Harris said, a Gaza ceasefire and a hostage deal must be reached as immediately as possible read more
 "Harris says some progress made but is 'meaningless' unless...")
In an interview with the CBS news, US Vice President Kamala Harris said Washington will continue to pressure Israel and other players in West Asia to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza. Source: REUTERS.
Amid rising tensions in West Asia, US Vice President Kamala Harris has informed that there has been some progress on a Gaza ceasefire deal, but it is “meaningless” unless a deal is actually reached.
“We must have a ceasefire and a hostage deal as immediately as possible,” Harris, who faces Donald Trump in the November 5 US Presidential election 2024, said during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Her statement comes within days after, in an interview with the CBS news show “60 Minutes”, she said that Washington will continue to pressure Israel and other players in West Asia to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
The Democratic presidential candidate said that diplomatic work with Israel is “an ongoing pursuit”.
Also Read: Harris reaffirms support for Gaza ceasefire as protests escalate
During the CBS interview, Harris sidestepped a question on whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a “real close ally."
“I think with all due respect the better question is do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people and the answer to that question is yes,” she said.
Also Read: Is Netanyahu a close ally? Harris dodges question amid Biden’s terse words for Israeli PM
The vice president reiterated Washington’s position to support Israel’s right to self defence against Iran and Iran-backed militant groups including Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah.
“Now the work that we do diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles,” she had said.
“We’re not going to stop in terms of putting that pressure on Israel and in the region including Arab leaders,” Harris further said.
Hezbollah drops Gaza truce as condition for Lebanon ceasefire
Meanwhile, Hezbollah officials, who have been consistently saying that they would not stop fighting until Israel ended the war in Gaza, are now no longer demanding a truce in Gaza as a condition for reaching a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Naim Qaseem, Deputy leader of Hezbollah, in a televised speech on Tuesday said that he backed efforts by Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of the militant group, to secure a truce without setting a precondition.
Qaseem is currently the top official of Hezbollah after the chief of the militant group - Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah -was killed in an Israeli strike.
“We support the political activity being led by Berri under the title of a ceasefire… If the enemy (Israel) continues its war, then the battlefield will decide,” Qassem said.
A report by Reuters quoted a Lebanese government official as saying that Hezbollah had amended its stance due to a host of pressure, including the mass displacement of people from main constituencies where supporters of the Muslim Shi’ite group live in south Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.
The Lebanese official, who declined to be named, was quoted by Reuters as saying that the change of Hezbollah’s position was also driven by Israel’s intensifying ground campaign and objections to Hezbollah’s stance from some Lebanese political actors.
With inputs from Reuters.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
English (US) ·