Israeli hostage deaths likely to overshadow Biden and Harris’ drive

Rehoboth Beach — US President Joe Biden will join vice-president Kamala Harris on the campaign trail this week for the first time since Harris replaced him at the top of the Democratic ticket, but the discovery of Israeli hostage deaths in Gaza at the weekend is likely to overshadow events.

This week marks the start of the vital post-Labor Day sprint to the November 5 election, and Harris and her Republican challenger, former President Donald Trump, are expected to ramp up outreach to voters, especially in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Nevada.

At the weekend, Israel recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in Gaza where it said they were recently killed by Hamas, sparking sharp criticism of the Biden administration’s ceasefire strategy and new pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring the remaining hostages home.

The US government, including Biden himself, has been trying for months to broker a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in response to Hamas’ October 7 attack that killed 1,200. The issue is weighing on the US election, with pro-Palestinian activists threatening to ramp up protests of Harris on the campaign trail and Republicans blaming Biden and Harris for the hostage deaths.

On Monday, Biden and Harris will campaign together in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one of the most important battleground states in this election cycle. Harris will also travel to Detroit, Michigan, and her vice-presidential pick, Minnesota governor Tim Walz will travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Before they campaign though, Biden and Harris will meet at the White House with the US hostage deal negotiating team to discuss efforts towards a deal that secures the release of the remaining hostages, the White House said.

Leading race

Meanwhile, Trump will participate in a Fox town hall on Wednesday hosted by Sean Hannity, and later this week will address the Fraternal Order of Police at their autumn meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, and hold a rally in Wisconsin.

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that Harris was leading the race against Trump 45% to 41%.

Harris and Walz are hoping to keep up the enthusiasm her entry into the race on July 21 sparked among Democrats, who are donating record amounts of money to the campaign and volunteering by the tens of thousands. They have focused on an upbeat, positive message about America’s future, cost-cutting plans aimed at the middle class and attracting Republicans turned off by Trump.

Meanwhile, Trump and his vice-presidential pick, JD Vance, have struggled to find a clear line of attack against Harris, painting her as an unrepentant liberal and as the inheritor of Biden’s more centrist policies, while also bashing her intelligence and spreading crude internet memes.

An outside adviser to Trump previously said on condition of anonymity that several advisers had told Trump that a continued focus on insults rather than policy could doom his chances in November.

Harris’ campaign appears to be outraising Trump’s. Last week, the Harris campaign told the Federal Election Commission that it raised $204m in July, compared with $48m reported to the body by Trump’s main fundraising group. Both sides are bombarding battleground states with TV ads.

Biden, Harris and Trump all released statements at the weekend after the six hostage bodies were found. Biden said he was “devastated and outraged”, adding, “Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.”

Hostage crisis

Harris said she and her husband had spoken to the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the hostages whose body was found. “As they mourn this terrible loss, they are not alone. Our nation mourns with them.”

Trump said the “Hostage crisis in Israel is only taking place because Comrade Kamala Harris is weak and ineffective, and has no idea what she’s doing.”

Leat Corinne Unger, a family member of 21-year-old Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov, who was not one of the hostages found at the weekend, said that “everyone has failed”.

“Everyone has blood on their hands,” she said. “The international community failed, the administration, on both sides, bipartisan, they failed.

“It’s time for the suffering of innocents to end on all sides of the spectrum and the international community must hold Hamas accountable,” she added. “They have said a lot of things, but they haven’t done anything to force their hand.”

Biden and Harris are likely to face more questions about what the administration is doing to secure a hostage deal, said Jeremi Suri, history and public affairs professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

“The best scenario for Biden and Harris would be a ceasefire this week,” Suri said. “Israeli public is pushing and Hamas seems open, but it is very hard to predict.”

Reuters