US Approves $20 Billion More in Weapons for Israel—as the Death Toll in Gaza Reaches 40,000

On August 14th, activists held a rally demanding an arms embargo outside of a Kamala Harris campaign event in New York. Lev Radin/Pacific Press via ZUMA Press Wire

It has been a little over three weeks since President Joe Biden stepped down from a race for reelection. Since then, the Israeli military has killed at least 1,017 people in Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities, tipping the death toll over 40,000; Israel has bombed multiple schools, claiming the buildings were used as centers for Hamas fighters—in one strike, 93 Gazans were killed with American-made bombs; and the United States has approved another sale of weapons to Israel, this time for $20 billion.

The US backing of Israel’s war on Gaza has largely faded from the headlines, eclipsed by the drama surrounding a new candidate in the upcoming presidential election. But as Vice President Kamala Harris heads into the Democratic National Convention, the war has far from halted. And there is not much hope for a cessation in fighting to come soon.

As her campaign emerges, Harris will have to speak directly about a conflict that is still at the........

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