Former vice president Kamala Harris accused Israel of genocide just hours before Hamas released hostages as part of President Donald Trump’s peace plan, igniting criticism from allies of Israel and conservative leaders. The Kamala Harris’s remarks aired Sunday morning on MSNBC’s The Weekend, as Harris weighed in on whether she agreed with Democrats calling Israel’s military actions “a genocide.”
“I think that, listen, it’s a term of law that a court will decide,” Harris said. “But I will tell you that when you look at the number of children that have been killed, the number of innocent civilians that have been killed, the refusal to give aid and support, we should all step back and ask this question and be honest about it, yeah.”
The interview aired only hours before Hamas released 20 Israeli hostages it had held since the Oct. 7 massacre. The release marked the first step in President Trump’s negotiated peace plan, which also calls for the return of deceased hostages’ remains and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from half of Gaza. Israel simultaneously released around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under the agreement.
During the same interview, Harris added, “I really do hope it becomes real and that the hostages are out, that Gaza is no longer being treated with such brutality of force, that aid goes in. I commend the people who have been a part of this process. I commend the Qataris, the Egyptians, and the president.”
President Trump later declared aboard Air Force One that “the war is over,” and addressed Israel’s Knesset Monday, calling the moment a “golden age of the Middle East.”
