WASHINGTON (NEWSnet/AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris met Monday with Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s wartime Cabinet.

White House officials said Gantz, a centrist political rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, requested the meeting and that the administration believes it is important that Harris collaborate.

President Joe Biden, Harris and other senior administration officials have become blunt about their dissatisfaction with the mdeath toll in Gaza and the suffering of Palestinians as the war nears the five-month mark.

“The president and I have been aligned and consistent from the very beginning," Harris said in an exchange with reporters shortly before meeting. "Israel has a right to defend itself. Far too many Palestinian civilians, innocent civilians have been killed. We need to get more aid in, we need to get hostages out. and that remains our position.”

The White House said Harris and Gantz discussed the urgency of completing a hostage deal to free more than 100 people believed still to be in captivity in Gaza.

Although Gantz holds many of the same views as Netanyahu, he has been considered more open to compromise on some issues, including increased  humanitarian assistance.

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