Kamala Harris says de-escalation needed in the Middle East

(Patria) - United States Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris stated that de-escalation is needed in the Middle East, a region that has been in the midst of Israeli wars in Gaza and Lebanon for months, Reuters reported.

A ceasefire remains elusive in Gaza and Lebanon, and the region is bracing for an Israeli response to last week's Iranian missile attack, carried out in retaliation for an Israeli military action in Lebanon.

For Gaza, President Joe Biden put forth a three-phase ceasefire plan on May 31, which has faced obstacles for months due to Israeli demands to maintain a presence on the corridor along Gaza's border with Egypt and due to differences in the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

In Lebanon, Washington and Paris put forth a three-week ceasefire proposal at the end of September, which Israel rejected.

"We need to achieve a ceasefire," Harris told reporters as she left Las Vegas,
commenting on the situation in Gaza and Lebanon. "We need to de-escalate," she added.