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US Vice President Kamala Harris<\/strong> confirmed that the Biden administration will not allow the forced removal of Palestinians out of Gaza or the West Bank, as the Israeli bombardment of the territory resumed following the expiration of a weeklong truce with Hamas.<\/p>\n \u201cUnder no circumstances will the United States permit the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank, the besiegement of Gaza, or the redrawing of the borders of Gaza,\u201d Harris said<\/a> in a meeting on Saturday with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi<\/strong> of Egypt, according to a readout of the remarks.<\/p>\n Harris, following meetings with Arab leaders in Dubai for the COP28 climate conference, said that while the US continued to endorse Israel\u2019s right to defend itself, she was also concerned by the growing humanitarian crisis.<\/p>\n \u201cThe United States is unequivocal: International humanitarian law must be respected. Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed,\u201d the vice president said<\/a> in a press conference, adding that \u201cthe scale of civilian suffering and the images and videos coming from Gaza are devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n The US wants \u201csignificant resources\u201d on a global scale for a postwar Gaza governed by a strengthened Palestinian Authority, according to Harris. Palestinians will eventually need assistance rebuilding homes and infrastructure, while their security forces should be \u201cstrengthened to eventually assume \u2026 some responsibilities in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n In the eight weeks since Hamas\u2019 October 7 attack, the wartime death toll in Gaza has risen to over 15,000 Palestinians\u2014including more than 10,000 women and children\u2014according to data from the Gaza Health Ministry. The pace of killing, The New York Times<\/em> reported<\/a> in November, has few precedents in any conflict this century, including an additional 200 Palestinians killed by Israel after military operations resumed.<\/p>\n The weeklong truce, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, allowed hundreds of aid trucks to enter Gaza, where the fighting has displaced 1.7 out of the territory\u2019s 2.2 million people. The International Rescue Committee, an aid group operating in Gaza, warned<\/a> that the return of fighting will \u201cwipe out even the minimal relief\u201d provided by the truce and \u201cprove catastrophic for Palestinian civilians.\u201d The head of the UN\u2019s agency for Palestinian refugees told<\/a> the Financial Times<\/em> Friday that Gaza \u201cmight be on the eve of a perfect kind of humanitarian catastrophe-tsunami.\u201d<\/p>\n In the immediate term, Harris called for security arrangements in Gaza that \u201care acceptable to Israel, the people of Gaza, the Palestinian Authority, and the international partners,\u201d but said that ultimately, the administration\u2019s aspiration is for a \u201cunified Gaza and West Bank under the Palestinian Authority,\u201d with \u201cPalestinian voices and aspirations\u2026at the center of this work.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n