“Israel has a right to defend itself and how it does so matters,” Harris said. “What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating,” she said. “I expressed with the prime minister my serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza,” Harris told reporters, “including the death of too many civilians” and the reality of two million people facing food insecurity in the territory.

“We cannot allow ourselves to be numb to the suffering and I will not be silent,” she said.

Harris highlighted “the images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time.” She added, “We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies.”

The vice president called on Netanyahu to finalize a proposed ceasefire deal, mentioning she had just told the Israeli leader “to get this deal done.” Harris presented to reporters a vision of a long-term solution that recognized the needs of Israelis, including those still being held hostage, as well as Palestinians, who have spent decades demanding statehood.

“It is time for this war to end and end in a way where Israel is secure, all the hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity and self-determination,” Harris said.

Earlier today, I delivered remarks to press about my meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel. pic.twitter.com/lNLSaufIvK

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) July 26, 2024

Since Harris became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee this week, she has separated her stance on Gaza from that of Biden, who has mainly supported the Netanyahu government. Harris joined nearly half of Congressional Democrats in boycotting Netanyahu’s Wednesday speech to Congress, including influential Democrats such as former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) and progressives like New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. And even though she met with Netanyahu on Thursday, her tone and language are notably more critical of the Israeli war effort than Biden’s has been.

This stance could help Harris attract progressive and pro-Palestinian Democrats who had been wary of Biden because of his strong support for Israel in the war. President Biden has, in past months, faced protests for his support for Netanyahu’s war efforts and calls from a variety of voices, including the NAACP, for the United States to stop supplying Israel with weapons as Palestinian civilians continue to be killed by Israel’s military campaign. Harris’ more critical stance could pressure Netanyahu to wrap up the war and move toward a longer-term solution. The vice president’s stance may win her support from Democrats in key states like Michigan and Minnesota, where sympathy for Palestinians remains high.

In the coming weeks, we will see how Harris’ distinct tone concerning the war in Gaza will impact the situation and if it will affect her standing in the presidential race.