Hamas Needs To Agree On Truce Deal, Israel Must Increase Aid Flow: US VP Kamala Harris
US Vice President Kamala Harris said that Hamas needs to agree to ceasefire deal while urged Israel to boost aid flow into Gaza.
US Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday demanded that Palestinian militant group Hamas agree to a ceasefire deal while also pressing Israel to increase the flow of aid deliveries into Gaza, where the people were suffering a "humanitarian catastrophe".
In some of the strongest comments made by a senior leader in the US government to date, Harris stressed that Israel should allow more aid into the densely populated coastal strip where thousands of people are facing famine in the ensuing military campaign by the Israeli forces, as per a Reuters report.
Speaking at an event in Selma, Alabama, she said, "Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire."
"There is a deal on the table, and as we have said, Hamas needs to agree to that deal. Let's get a ceasefire," she added.
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"People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane and our common humanity compels us to act...The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses," Harris said.
The statement comes as a delegation of Hamas arrived in Cairo on Sunday for the latest round of ceasefire talks, billed by many as the final possible hurdle for a truce.
However, as per the Reuters report, it was unclear if any progress was made.
According to Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth's website, Tel Aviv boycotted the talks after Hamas rejected its demand for a complete list of hostages who are still alive.
The US has insisted that a truce deal is close and is pushing to put in place a ceasefire by the start of Ramadan which is just a week away.
On Saturday, a US official said that Israel has agreed on a framework deal.
An agreement from both sides would bring an extended ceasefire for the first time in the fighting that has been raging from five months so far which has killed over 30,000 Palestinian civilians so far.
The deal would also ensure that the dozens of hostages held by Hamas would be freed in return for hundreds of Palestinian detainees.
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