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Al-Arabia – Israel must complete its military objectives in Gaza and “(remove) the threat of Hamas” on the country, Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz told US Vice President Kamala Harris, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and other senior officials in the administration and the Senate on Monday.
“In the meeting, I iterated the imperative of completing the mission of removing the threat Hamas poses to Israel, finding a sustainable solution to ensuring humanitarian aid reaches civilians and not terrorist Hamas, and the importance of completing all of the operation’s military objectives in Gaza in a manner that enables stability and prosperity for the region entirely,” Gantz said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The minister said on X that he expressed the need to find a solution to ensure humanitarian aid reaches civilians and not Hamas, and return the hostages taken by the militant group during its October 7 attack.
“I emphasized to VP Harris Israel’s supreme commitment to secure the return of the hostages and finally conveyed my gratitude for the significant pressure the US is applying to advance the matter, particularly during these days,” he added.
I met yesterday with @VP Kamala Harris and US National Security Advisor @JakeSullivan46 followed by a series of other high-level officials in the Senate and Administration, and conveyed my profound appreciation for their support for Israel.
In the meeting, I iterated the…— בני גנץ – Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) March 5, 2024
Meanwhile, Harris on Tuesday said she reiterated her support for “Israel’s right to defend itself,” and discussed with Gantz the need to finalize a hostage deal and increase the flow of aid into Gaza to protect civilians.
Cracks within Israel’s wartime leadership
Several reports quoting government sources said the Israeli minister’s trip angered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who ordered the embassy in the US not to facilitate the visit – highlighting the widening crack within Israel’s wartime leadership nearly six months into its war with Hamas.
An official from Netanyahu’s far-right Likud party said Gantz did not have approval from the prime minister for his meetings in Washington and that Netanyahu gave the Cabinet official a “tough talk,” The Associated Press reported.
Gantz is a member of Israel’s war cabinet and the leader of the National Unity party.
The retired army general was Israel’s minister of defense between 2020 and 2022 and the chief of staff of the Israeli military from 2011 until 2015.
He was the defense minister during Israel’s 2021 war on Gaza, which killed 256 Palestinians, including 66 children, according to the UN.
He also served as the minister of justice in 2021 and as the deputy prime minister for a period between 2021 and 2022.
Multiple opinion polls since the war on Gaza began have shown Gantz leading against Netanyahu.
An opinion poll from Israeli Democracy Institute showed Netanyahu’s popularity is plummeting, with only 15 percent Israelis wanting him to stay in power. Gantz won almost twice the amount of support in the same poll.
