Harris says bloodshed in Gaza is devastating, emphasizes support for hostage and cease-fire deals

CHICAGO -- Vice President Kamala Harris called for the Palestinian people to be able to "realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination" while reiterating her support for a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas during her remarks here Thursday at the Democratic National Convention.

Harris said that as president, she would maintain the US alliance with Israel and "ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself." She condemned the October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas but also acknowledged the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza amid Israel's military operation in the enclave.

"What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking," she said. "President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination."

More than 40,000 people have been killed Gaza since October 7, according to the local health ministry.

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Harris' remarks Thursday are largely in line with what has been the Biden administration's position on the conflict - though the vice president did not mention the United States' role in arming Israel. Still, her remarks still represented the most that Harris has said on the issue in front of such a large audience and her most fulsome comments in support of Palestinian self-determination since she ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket.

Both President Joe Biden and Harris have expressed support for a two-state solution.

Coming into Thursday, pro-Palestinian activists had repeatedly pushed for representatives of their cause to play a role in the convention's proceedings as other protesters surrounded the streets of Chicago and marched on the convention throughout the week.

Protests outside the United Center accused Harris and Democrats of not going far enough to attain a lasting ceasefire. Leaders of the Uncommitted National Movement, which emerged during the Democratic presidential primary to marshal protest votes against the Biden administration's support for Israel's war in Gaza, asked the Harris campaign to allow them a speaking spot at the convention, and the group led a sit-in outside the convention after the campaign turned those requests down.

The uncommitted delegates entered the venue for Harris' speech Thursday, effectively ending the sit-in, and her speech appeared to go off without interruption from pro-Palestinian protesters. The delegates issued another demand to the Harris campaign, though: Come to Michigan and other swing states and talk to Palestinian American families by September 15.

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"I think it would be disastrous to her campaign and disastrous to continue alienating the core base of her own constituents that she needs in November in order to combat fascism and authoritarian that are on the ballot," said Uncommitted co-founder Layla Elabed, a Palestinian American and the sister of Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib.

The group's leaders criticized the DNC and the Harris campaign for rejecting what they perceived as a modest or symbolic request in denying a speaking slot for a Palestinian American at the convention. Still, Elabed said the delegates had no plans to disrupt the proceedings ahead of or during Harris's acceptance speech.

Other activists gathered outside the convention argued that Democratic Party leaders had only hurt their own cause by denying Uncommitted leaders' ask for a speaking slot.

"I feel bad for them because they're out of step with the majority of the Democratic base," Uncommitted co-founder Abbas Alawieh said. "The majority of Democratic voters believe that Palestinian human rights are a priority alongside every other priority we have."

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