US Vice President Kamala Harris reiterated her call for a ceasefire in the conflict in Gaza, emphasizing the need to take advantage of the recent killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was involved in the October 7 attack.
As reported by Reuters, while recognizing the challenges ahead, she affirmed her commitment to advocating for an end to the violence.
"This creates an opening that I believe we must take full advantage of - to dedicate ourselves to ending this war and bringing the hostages home," she said.
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“As it relates to the issues in the Middle East and in particular in that region, it has never been easy. But that doesn't mean we give up. It's always going to be difficult. We can't give up.”
Harris dodged a question on whether Arab American and Muslim anger over US support for Israel's continued bombardment of Gaza and more recently in Lebanon could cost her the election in the battleground state of Michigan, but said she would continue speaking out about the tragic loss of innocent lives.
“I speak publicly all the time about the fact that there are so many tragic stories coming from Gaza,” Harris said, also referencing the initial Hamas Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
“What's critically important as we look at this moment, is ... acknowledging the tragedy of what has happened in Gaza, in terms of the extraordinary number of innocent Palestinians that have been killed, and taking that seriously and speaking truth about that,” she said.
With just 17 days until the November 5 election, Harris and Trump are nearly tied in key battleground states like Michigan. To replicate President Biden's 2020 victories in Michigan and Georgia, Harris will need to secure strong support in predominantly non-white cities such as Detroit and Atlanta, which have significant Arab American and Muslim populations. In the 2016 election, Trump won Michigan by a narrow margin of 11,000 votes, while Biden secured a more substantial victory in 2020, defeating Trump by 155,000 votes.
Harris on Friday won the endorsements of 50 prominent Lebanese-Americans, who said the US had been "unrelenting" in its support for Lebanon under the Biden administration and that they expect additional backing if Harris wins in November.
Reuters reported that the endorsement happened against the backdrop of escalating violence, with ongoing Israeli attacks in Lebanon resulting in at least 2,350 deaths and displacing over 1.2 million people, as reported by the Lebanese health ministry. In response, Hezbollah attacks have claimed the lives of 50 Israeli soldiers and civilians.
In Gaza, following the October 7 attack that killed around 1,200 people and led to 253 hostages, the Israeli military response has reportedly resulted in over 42,500 fatalities, according to Palestinian officials.
(With inputs from Reuters)
