She also issued the sharpest criticism to date of Israel by a top US official, calling on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take steps to increase aid into Gaza.
“The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses,” Harris said.
She added that Israel “must open new border crossings” and “must not impose any unnecessary restrictions on the delivery of aid.”
Harris delivered her remarks at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where a march by hundreds of peaceful activists was violently suppressed by police on Mar 7, 1965.
The event, known as “Bloody Sunday,” further catalysed support for Black rights and helped lead a few months later to the passage of the Voting Rights Act, a federal law prohibiting racial discrimination in voting.
The Hamas attack on Oct 7 resulted in the death of around 1,160 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures, with around 250 people believed to have been taken hostage.
The Israeli army says 130 hostages remain in Gaza, of whom 31 are believed to be dead.
Israel’s military response has claimed 30,410 deaths, most of them women and children, according to the Hamas government’s Ministry of Health.
Source: CNA
