Kamala Harris says de-escalation needed in Middle East
Adds quotes and ceasefire stalemate, background on Middle East
By Stephanie Kelly and Kanishka Singh
LAS VEGAS, Oct 10 (Reuters) -U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate KamalaHarris said on Thursday that de-escalation was needed in the Middle East, a region on edge for months amid Israel's wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
A ceasefire remains elusive in Gaza and Lebanon and the region is bracing for an Israeli response to an Iranian missile attack last week carried out in retaliation for Israel's military action in Lebanon. No one in Israel was killed in Iran's attack, and Washington called it ineffective.
For Gaza, President Joe Biden put forward a three-phase ceasefire plan on May 31, which has run into obstacles for months over Israeli demands of keeping presence in a corridor on Gaza's border with Egypt and over differences in exchanges of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
In Lebanon, Washington and Paris put forward a 21-day ceasefire proposal in late September that Israel rejected.
KEY QUOTES
"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."
Washington's occasional condemnation of Israel over the war's civilian death toll has mostly been verbal with no substantive change in policy.
CONTEXT
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered onOct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militantsattacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed almost 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and displaced nearly the entire population, while causing a hunger crisis and leading to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies .
Israel's recent operations in Lebanon have killed hundreds, wounded thousands and displaced over a million. Israel says it is targeting Lebanese Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.
Reporting by Stephanie Kelly; writing by Kanishka Singh; editing by Chris Reese and Leslie Adler
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
