Biden administration officials rephrased key parts of Vice President Kamala Harris’ strongly worded speech in which she blasted Israel’s continuing war against Hamas and called for an immediate cease-fire to free remaining hostages in Gaza, according to government officials who spoke to NBC News.
Officials in Harris’ camp acknowledged some changes to Harris’ fiery speech on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 3 but denied that her words were watered down in any way, asserting that the core of her original message remained unchanged.
According to the unnamed officials, the National Security Council received a draft copy of the speech before Harris delivered it. At that point, agency officials purportedly toned down key passages that condemned Israel for the worsening humanitarian crisis and that called for more funding to Palestinian civilians.
The first version of the speech directly called on Israel to immediately allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, with the officials noting that Harris’ wording was forceful but not likely to cause any disagreement.
During the actual speech, Harris was still critical of Israel, describing the situation in Gaza as desperate and calling it “clearly a humanitarian catastrophe.”
She confirmed that the Defense Department conducted its first airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza last week while emphasizing that the Israeli government needed to do more to safeguard refugees as more than 30,500 Palestinians have been killed since the war began.
“They must open new borders for aid,” Harris declared. “They must not impose any unnecessary restrictions on the delivery of aid. They must ensure humanitarian personnel, sites and convoys are not targeted. And they must work to restore basic services and promote order in Gaza so more food, water and fuel can reach those in need.”
Most notably in the speech, Harris called for an immediate six-week cease-fire as part of a deal…
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