Kamala Harris dials Israeli PM Netanyahu, reaffirms unwavering US commitment to Israel

US Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday said that she dialed Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday morning and restated US’ commitment to stand with Israel and the Israeli people.

Expressing her complete outrage over the Hamas attack on Israel, the Vice President said that the extreme acts of terrorism must be condemned in no uncertain terms.

#WATCH | On Israel-Palestine conflict, US Vice President Kamala Harris says, “I’m completely outraged by what has taken place. We are looking at extreme acts of terrorism that must be condemned in no uncertain terms. There is absolutely no justification for terrorism. The… pic.twitter.com/sbqiVsgu1G

— ANI (@ANI) October 12, 2023

“I’m completely outraged by what has taken place. We are looking at extreme acts of terrorism that must be condemned in no uncertain terms. There is absolutely no justification for terrorism. The President (Joe Biden) and I take very seriously our commitment to Israel to support them and to give Israel what it needs to defend itself,” said Kamala Harris.

She said one of the highest priority for the US is the safety and well-being of American citizens.

“It is also critically important that we stay in constant communication and contact with our allies, Israeli partners and members of Congress… This morning I was on a call with PM Netanyahu…to restate our commitment to stand with Israel and the Israeli people,” added the Vice President.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed to Israel on Wednesday as Washington underscores support for the Jewish state in a war that has seen the death toll spiral into the thousands

Just ahead of Blinken’s trip, Washington urged its ally to show restraint in its response to Hamas’s surprise attack – the worst in the country’s 75-year history – which Israeli forces said killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

In Gaza, officials have reported more than 1,200 people killed in Israel’s uninterrupted campaign of air and artillery strikes, while the UN said more than 338,000 people have been displaced.

“Every Hamas member is a dead man,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised statement on Wednesday, likening the militants to the Islamic State group and promising: “We will crush them and destroy them as the world has destroyed Daesh.”

For days, black smoke has billowed into the sky above the impoverished Palestinian enclave of 2.3 million people, where entire city blocks have been razed.

As the war rages on, fears are growing over the fate of at least 150 hostages – mostly Israelis but also foreign and dual nationals – held in Gaza by Hamas.

The militants claimed that four captives died in Israeli strikes and threatened to kill the others if civilian targets were bombed without advance warning from Israel.

Hamas claimed Wednesday to have released an Israeli woman and her two children who it said had been detained during fighting with Israeli forces, but Israeli television networks rejected the announcement.

With inputs from agencies