Kamala Harris meets Israeli Cabinet official to push ceasefire deal

Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a residential building. Pics/AP

Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday is hosting a member of Israel's wartime Cabinet who is visiting Washington in defiance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Benny Gantz, a centrist political rival of Netanyahu, is sitting down with several senior Biden administration officials this week, including Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser. President Joe Biden is at Camp David, the presidential retreat just outside Washington, until Tuesday.

Wounded Palestinian Nidal al-Gharib - who lost his wife and daughter - walks past his neighbours' destroyed house

An official from Netanyahu's far-right Likud party said Gantz did not have approval from the prime minister for his meetings in Washington and that Netanyahu gave the Cabinet official a "tough talk" - underscoring the widening crack within Israel's wartime leadership nearly six months into the Israel-Hamas war.

In her meeting with Gantz, Harris plans to press for a temporary ceasefire deal that would allow for the release of several categories of hostages being held by Hamas. Israel has essentially agreed to the deal, according to a senior Biden administration official, and the White House has emphasised that the onus is on Hamas to come on board.

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