Israeli official: Harris calling to end Gaza war will lead Hamas to take tougher stance

WASHINGTON — Harris’s public highlighting of a “dire humanitarian crisis” in Gaza and the need to “end the war” was harmful to the hostage negotiations, an Israeli official says, rejecting both messages.

The vice president also raised her concern regarding the Gaza humanitarian situation during her meeting with Netanyahu, the Israeli official notes, adding that the premier offered Harris a “detailed factual” account of the situation on the ground in Gaza, which pushed back on her claims regarding acute food insecurity, the suffering of civilians and high numbers of innocent people killed.

The official points to a directive Netanyahu gave after Israel came under fire earlier in the war over photos of bound Palestinian men stripped down to their underwear after being arrested by Israeli troops. The suspects were Hamas fighters who Israel wanted to confirm were not wearing explosives. Following outcry over the footage, Netanyahu ordered the IDF to allow the suspects to immediately put their clothes back on after the inspections were complete.

“The harm to Palestinian civilians is really the problem right now?” the Israeli official asks.

“What is Hamas supposed to think when it hears this?” the official continues, suggesting such talk will lead the terror group to toughen its demands. “I hope it won’t lead to regression in the talks because we’ve made a lot of progress.”

Despite the Israeli official’s disappointment with Harris’s public remarks, they speculate that ties with the Biden administration won’t deteriorate as the vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee takes a larger role.

“We are on a path of cooperation and closing gaps…. but that is why Harris’s press conference was so problematic,” the Israeli official says.