Harris said she would ‘not be silent’ on Palestinian suffering in Gaza after talks with Netanyahu

Despite Harris’ perceived outspokenness on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, US officials denied there was any substantive “daylight” between her and Biden on the issue. But a top Israeli official said the government had been uncomfortable with the remarks, and suggested they risked making a truce deal “harder to secure” by emboldening Hamas, The Times of Israel reported. Israel’s hardline finance minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on X that Harris’ comments represented a “surrender to [Hamas military leader Yahya] Sinwar,” while national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir tweeted: “There won’t be a stop to the war, Mrs. Candidate.” However, families of hostages still held in Gaza said they felt “more optimistic” about a hostage deal following Biden’s meeting with Netanyahu, Axios reported.

It would be politically “savvy” for Harris to change US policy toward Israel, argued the first Jewish appointee to resign from Biden’s administration in protest of the war in Gaza: “What better way to draw attention to the authoritarianism of Trump than for Harris to resoundly reject authoritarianism abroad?” But Harris should “tack to the center,” a Wall Street Journal columnist argued, instead of appeasing leftists, a minority of Democrat voters. Still, Gaza remains a top issue for voters in swing states like Michigan, and a more “even-handed” approach from Harris would mobilize groups that won Biden the presidency in 2020, a political activist told The Hill.