Kamala Harris calls for 'immediate cease-fire' in Gaza, citing 'immense scale of suffering'

WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza on Sunday, citing the "humanitarian catastrophe" caused by the Israel-Hamas War.

“Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate cease-fire, at least for the next six weeks,” Harris said in Selma, Ala.

Harris' remarks were the most pointed statement yet by a member of the Biden administration on the need for an immediate pause in the fighting in Gaza.

President Joe Biden has been under immense pressure to demand a cease-fire in the five-month war, which started after Hamas militants stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. Over 30,000 Palestinians have died in the war.

In Alabama, Harris said Israel must do more to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into the area.

"People in Gaza are starving," she said while marking the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when Alabama state troopers savagely clubbed peaceful civil rights marchers as they tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

"The conditions are inhumane, and our common humanity compels us to act," she said.

At the same time, she said, "the threat that Hamas poses to the people of Israel must be eliminated."

The Biden administration said Saturday that Israel has essentially agreed to a six-week cease-fire that would include the release of hostages, but that Hamas has yet to sign off on the deal.

The Israelis “have more or less accepted” the framework of a deal that would include a six-week cease-fire and the release of vulnerable hostages, including women, children and those who are elderly or wounded, said senior administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

But Hamas has yet to agree to the terms of the deal.

Biden has he hopes that a cease-fire deal can be in place by the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins March 10.

Also Saturday, the U.S. began airdropping humanitarian aid into Gaza on Saturday, days after over 100 Palestinians were killed when witnesses said Israeli forces fired at people waiting for food in Gaza City.

U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo planes, along with Jordan's air force, conducted airdrops of humanitarian aid into Gaza for two hours, according to U.S. Central Command. The planes dropped over 38,000 meals along the coastline of Gaza allowing for civilian access to the critical aid.

Officials said the airdrops would make sure that food and other commodities get to people who need them and help prevent the looting that has plagued the delivery of goods into the region on the ground.

Michael Collins covers the White House. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @mcollinsNEWS.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kamala Harris calls for 'immediate cease-fire' in Gaza