By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday at a White House meeting that was closely watched for signs of how she might shift American policy about Israel if she becomes president.
Hours earlier, President Joe Biden pressed for a ceasefire to the 9-month-old war in Gaza in his first face-to-face talks with Netanyahu since the president traveled to Israel days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and pledged American support.
“We have a lot to talk about,” Harris said in greeting Netanyahu, echoing Biden almost word-for-word when he met the Israeli leader separately earlier in the day.
“We do indeed,” Netanyahu told her.
One of the first high profile U.S. leaders to call for a ceasefire, Harris was expected to closely track the administration line, a U.S. official said, focusing on the plight of Palestinians while also supporting Israel’s right to self-defense.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said gaps remain between Israel and the Hamas militants who run the Palestinian enclave in the drive for a ceasefire but “we are closer now than we’ve been before.”
“Both sides have to make compromises,” Kirby said.
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said: “I think the message from the American side in that meeting will be that we need to get this deal over the line.”
The visit coincides with a shift in American politics. On Sunday, Biden, 81, stepped aside from the U.S. presidential race under pressure from fellow Democrats and endorsed Harris for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination.
“We’ve got a lot to talk about,” Biden said when he welcomed Netanyahu to the Oval Office.
“I want to thank you for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the state of Israel,” Netanyahu told Biden.
The White House was ringed with extra security fencing to protect against protesters on Thursday.
Biden and Netanyahu earlier met together with the families of American hostages held by Hamas. Representatives for the families told reporters after the meeting that they were hoping for a ceasefire deal that would bring the hostages home.
“We came today with a sense of urgency,” said Jonathan Dekel-Chen. He said they were more optimistic of a deal since the first release of Israeli hostages from a previous ceasefire.
STRAINS IN BIDEN-NETANYAHU RELATIONS
Relations between Biden and Netanyahu have been strained for months over Israel’s Gaza offensive in which more than 39,000 people have been killed, according to health officials in Gaza.
The U.S. is a major arms supplier to Israel and has protected the country from critical United Nations votes.
Whether Biden, who is now a “lame duck” president, a term used for officials who won’t serve another term, or Harris, who is tied in many election polls with Republican rival Donald Trump, can have any influence on Netanyahu remains to be seen.
On Friday, Netanyahu travels to Florida to meet Trump.
Harris has been aligned with Biden on Israel but has struck a tougher tone.
The conflict began on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel from Gaza, killing 1,200 people. Israel launched a retaliatory assault.
Hamas-led fighters took 250 captives on Oct. 7, according to Israeli tallies. Some 120 hostages are still being held though Israel believes one in three are dead.
DEFIANT SPEECH
On Wednesday, Netanyahu gave a defiant speech to the U.S. Congress in which he defended Israel’s attacks on Gaza, saying anti-Israel protesters “should be ashamed of themselves.”
The Gaza conflict has splintered the Democratic Party, and sparked months of protests at Biden events. A drop in support among Arab-Americans could hurt Democratic chances in Michigan, one of a handful of states likely to decide the Nov. 5 election.
Biden’s desire for unity in the party in the drive to defeat Trump was cited on Wednesday night in an Oval Office address as a main reason why he decided not to seek reelection but to instead support Harris for the 2024 race.
Negotiations on a long-sought ceasefire-for-hostages deal in the Gaza conflict appear to be in their closing stages, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday.
U.S. officials have made similar pledges before about a ceasefire which evaporated under last-minute differences.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Daphne Psaledakis. Editing by Heather Timmons and Howard Goller)
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