Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir have criticized U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris following her comments regarding Gaza after her meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This comes after Harris stated that she expressed to Netanyahu during their meeting on Thursday her "deep concern" about the number of casualties in Gaza, adding, "We cannot turn a blind eye to these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not remain silent about it."
She also informed Netanyahu that "the time has come to reach this agreement" regarding a ceasefire in Gaza. In response, Smotrich said, "Kamala Harris has exposed to the entire world what I've been saying for weeks, what the real reason behind the deal is: 'surrendering to the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yehya Sinwar, and stopping the war in a way that allows Hamas to rehabilitate and abandon most of the prisoners. We must not fall into this trap!'" For his part, Ben Gvir directed a message to Harris: "There will be no ceasefire, Madam candidate."
