ANKARA: US Vice President Kamala Harris told pro-Palestine protesters chanting slogans at her campaign rally in Arizona that it is time to 'get a cease-fire deal and get the hostage deal done.' According to The Hill news website, Harris responded to pro-Palestine supporters chanting "Free Palestine" at the rally in Phoenix. 'I have been clear: now is the time to get a cease-fire deal and get the hostage deal done. Now is the time,' she said. Stressing that both US President Joe Biden and she are working to get a cease-fire agreement and for the return of the prisoners, Harris said she respected the views of pro-Palestine supporters. Despite appeals on Thursday from mediators, including Egypt, the US, and Qatar, to stop hostilities, reach a cease-fire, and a hostage exchange agreement, Israel persists with its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip has killed nearly 39,700 people since last October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance grou p Hamas. Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6. After Biden's decision not to seek reelection on Nov. 5 and his offer of "full support and endorsement" for Harris to be the Democratic Party's nominee, she officially launched her presidential campaign. Source: Anadolu Agency