VP Harris calls for cease-fire in Gaza for aid deliveries, hostage release

Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday was scheduled to host Israeli Cabinet member Benny Gantz at the White House during his trip to meet with several senior Biden administration officials this week. Gantz is a political rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and did not receive Netanyahu’s authorization to make the trip to Washington, according to The Times of Israel. Meanwhile, Harris on Sunday said that the Hamas terrorist group should agree to a six-week cease-fire and urged Israel to help boost aid deliveries. She was expected to press Gantz during their meeting to ensure that Israel agreed to the deal.

How is aid being delivered? More than 270 humanitarian aid trucks on Sunday traveled into Gaza, according to the Israel Defense Forces. United States C-130 cargo planes on Saturday dropped pallets of food over Gaza that contained about 38,000 meals. President Joe Biden approved the airdrop last week after more than 100 Palestinians died while trying to get food from aid trucks. Hamas had said that Israeli soldiers opened fire on the group. IDF said the individuals were trampled when the crowd charged toward the aid convoy.

Where do cease-fire talks stand? A delegation for Hamas on Sunday arrived in Cairo for negotiations to broker a cease-fire in Gaza before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins on March 10. Israel has demanded that Hamas provide a list of hostages and their conditions before it will agree to the cease-fire.

Dig deeper: Listen to Mary Reichard’s discussion on The World and Everything in It podcast with Itamar Marcus on Palestine’s conflicting messaging about what’s going on in the war.