Vice President Kamala Harris’ office on Friday denied suggestions from Israeli officials that her comments on Thursday, in which she strongly criticized Israel’s actions in the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, could have made it harder to reach a ceasefire agreement.
“We don’t know what they’re talking about,” a Harris aide told CNN, responding to a report in Israeli media citing a senior Israeli official who said, “We hope that what Harris said at the press conference is not interpreted by Hamas as a US-Israeli agreement and makes it harder to secure the agreement.”
Speaking after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Harris vowed to “not be silent” about the death and destruction in Gaza caused by the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, saying Israel has the right to defend itself, but “how it does so matters.”
But the vice president’s office clarified Friday that the message she sent privately to Netanyahu was similar to that sent by President Joe Biden, who spoke with Netanyahu on Thursday.
Harris’ office said her comments on Thursday were “consistent with her previous statements regarding this dispute.”
“She began with her unwavering support for Israel and then, as always, expressed concern about civilian casualties and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” the aide said.
Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, launched following an attack on October 7, has forced the evacuation of almost all of the Strip’s two million residents and reduced large swaths of the Strip to rubble.
Negotiation status: High-level cease-fire and hostage negotiations are due to resume in the coming days in Rome, according to a diplomat familiar with the plans. CIA Director Bill Burns is due to meet with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and Israeli intelligence. The CIA declined to comment.
CNN’s Alex Marquard contributed reporting.
