Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday hosted Benny Gantz, a centrist political rival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the WHite House, one day after forcefully calling for an "immediate cease-fire" in Gaza.

According to a readout of the meeting from the White House, Harris reiterated her belief that Israel has the right to defend itself while expressing “deep concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza and the recent horrific tragedy around an aid convoy in northern Gaza.”

The vice president, according to the readout, also expressed the need for a cease-fire and hostage release deal that the U.S. is in the thick of trying to iron out, to move forward, calling on Hamas to accept the terms. 

She also urged Israel to help facilitate the flow of more humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.

The two leaders also "discussed the situation in Rafah and the need for a credible and implementable humanitarian plan prior to contemplating any major military operation there given the risks to civilians," per the readout, with Harris urging "Israel to take additional measures in cooperation with the United States and international partners to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and ensure its safe distribution to those in need."

Last week, dozens of Palestinians were killed during an encounter with Israeli troops – an event Biden on Friday called “tragic and alarming.” Gantz was set to meet with several senior Biden administration officials this week, including Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Council Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk and Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser. President Joe Biden is at Camp David, the presidential retreat just outside Washington, until Tuesday.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Monday that Gantz requested the meeting with U.S. officials, and discussions would focus on a proposed cease-fire deal, Israeli military operations, the Israeli strategy for a ground assault of the southern city of Rafah and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza — where over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed and another 70,000 wounded, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The U.N. says around 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have fled their homes and a quarter are facing starvation.

Briefly responding to questions from reporters after delivering remarks at the International Association of Fire Fighters conference on Monday, Harris said she and Gantz will discuss “getting a hostage deal done, getting aid in, and then getting that six-week ceasefire.”

“I’ll tell you, the president has been an extraordinary leader in getting us to this point that we have the six-week deal,” the vice president said. “And so, Hamas needs to do its thing, as I talked about yesterday in Selma.”

Asked if there was any daylight between her and the president in the wake of her assertive call during remarks in Selma on Sunday for an “immediate cease-fire,” Harris said the pair have been “aligned and consistent from the very beginning.”

“I will tell you that it is important that we all understand that we’re in a window of time right now where we can actually get a hostage deal done,” she said. “We all want this conflict to end as soon as possible, and how it does matters.” 

Harris, during remarks in Selma marking the anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," issued a forceful call for a temporary cease-fire deal in Gaza, which administration officials say would halt fighting for at least six weeks, and also increased pressure on Israel to not impede the aid that workers were trying to get into the region. The White House has been advocating for that framework deal for weeks.

"Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate cease-fire for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table," Harris said Sunday. "This will get the hostages out and get a significant amount of aid in."

Harris continued: "This would allow us to build something more enduring to ensure Israel is secure and to respect the right of the Palestinian people to dignity, freedom and self-determination."

As she painted a dire portrait of malnourished and dying children in Gaza, Harris stressed that the Israeli government "must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid."

"No excuses," Harris said. "They must open new border crossings. 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."

Israel has essentially agreed to the deal, according to a senior Biden administration official, and the White House has emphasized that the onus is on Hamas to come on board.

“We call Hamas to accept the terms that are on the table right now,” Kirby said on a press call on Monday. “Whereby the release of vulnerable hostages — the sick, wounded, elderly, women — would help result in an immediate six weeks ceasef-ire and enable a surge of humanitarian assistance. Israel has agreed to this framework. And now the onus is on Hamas to do the same.”

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.

“He’s a member of the war cabinet. There’s a war going on between Israel and Hamas. We have been dealing with all members of the war cabinet, including Minister Gantz, since the beginning of the war,” Kirby said. “We see this as a natural outgrowth of those discussions.”

“We’re not going to turn away that sort of opportunity,” he added. He declined to say if U.S. officials, including Biden, planned to speak with Netanyahu after Gantz’s meetings.

For his part, Gantz intends to strengthen ties with the U.S., bolster support for Israel's war and push for the release of Israeli hostages, according to a second Israeli official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't allowed to publicly discuss the disputes within the Israeli government.

The U.S. has begun a series of airdrops of aid into Gaza, just days after dozens of Palestinians were killed as they were trying to get food from an Israel-organized convoy. The first drop on Saturday included about 38,000 meals into southwest Gaza, and White House officials have said those airdrops will continue to supplement truck deliveries, while they also work on sending aid via sea.

Harris previously met Gantz at the Munich Security Conference in 2022.