US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said on Thursday that de-escalation was needed in the Middle East, Reuters reported.
"We have got to reach a ceasefire," Harris told reporters as she departed Las Vegas, while commenting on the situations in Gaza and Lebanon. "We've got to de-escalate."
Earlier this week, Harris said in an interview with Stephen Colbert that there has been some progress on a Gaza ceasefire deal but it is "meaningless" unless a deal is actually reached.
“Close means that a lot of the details have been worked out ... but it is meaningless unless a deal is actually reached. So I don't want to suggest to you that we should be applauded for getting close at times to a deal," Harris told Colbert.
"We must have a ceasefire and a hostage deal as immediately as possible," she added.
The United States has been pushing an outline for a ceasefire and hostage release deal that President Joe Biden first laid out in May, but Hamas has continuously rejected every proposal that has been presented to it.
Last month, Hamas once again said that its negotiators reiterated the group’s readiness to implement an "immediate" ceasefire with Israel in Gaza based on a previous US proposal without new conditions from any party.
In Lebanon, the US and France suggested a 21-day pause in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah to allow both sides to work toward a larger agreement to return civilians to their homes in northern Israel and southern Lebanon.
However, US officials told CNN earlier this week that the US is no longer pushing to revive its proposed deal for a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon and is instead focused on shaping and limiting Israeli operations in Lebanon and against Iran.
Harris’ comments on Thursday come a day after she joined a call between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which dealt with the planned Israeli response to an Iranian missile attack last week.
Three US and Israeli officials told Axios on Thursday that Biden and Netanyahu have inched closer to an agreement regarding Israel's planned retaliation against Iran following Wednesday’s call.