Harris has been more vocal than Biden in her public comments about the plight Palestinians have faced throughout nearly a year of war, though she has not explicitly described how her policies as president would differ from Biden’s.

“Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed,” Harris reiterated, but she maintained that “Israel has a right to defend itself.”

HEZBOLLAH TARGETED IN UNPRECEDENTED EXPLODING PAGER ATTACK

Harris was able to outline her stance on the war but again declined to differentiate how she would change current U.S. policy during a discussion hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon.

When pressed on whether a Harris administration would approach Israel differently than the current administration, Harris shared her support for the Biden administration’s decision earlier this year to withhold a shipment of heavy bombs that the United States was concerned could lead to high civilian casualties.

“One of the things that we have done that I’m entirely supportive of is the pause that we put on the 2,000 lb bombs. So there is some leverage that we have had in use, but ultimately the thing that is going to unlock everything else in that region is getting this deal done,” she explained.

Harris declined to answer directly when pressed by the interviewers about critics who argue that Biden hasn’t done enough to end Israel’s war against Hamas, choosing instead to emphasize the administration’s ongoing efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release agreement.

“We are doing the work of putting the pressure on all parties involved to get the deal done,” she said. “But let me be very clear also, I support Israel’s ability to and I support the need for Palestinians to have dignity, self determination and security as we move forward and get a two state deal done. But right now, the thing we need to get done is this hostage deal and the ceasefire deal.”

The more progressive wing of the Democratic Party vocally opposes the war and the Biden administration’s continued support for Israel, while the more moderate portion of the party supports Israel. The opposition from progressives grew as the war continued with those voters threatening not to vote for Biden, and now Harris, due to their continued support for Israel.

Phil Gordon, Harris’s national security adviser, said last month that Harris does not support an arms embargo on Israel, which is a common policy pushed by progressives upset with the administration’s handling of the war.

The war was ignited on Oct. 7, when thousands of Hamas militants overpowered the border fence, entered southern Gaza, and killed roughly 1,200 people, many of whom were killed in their own residential communities. Another 250 others were kidnapped during the attack, which was the worst in Israel’s history.

Biden, for his part, has continued to provide Israel with military aid and support even as he and his administration publicly called for Israel to do more to prevent civilian casualties.

Israel’s leaders vowed to remove Hamas from power in Gaza and to destroy the group’s military capabilities to carry out future attacks against Israel. In their efforts to achieve those goals, Israeli forces have decimated the Gaza Strip.

More than 40,000 Palestinians are believed to have been killed during the war, less than half of whom are thought to be Hamas terrorists. Israel has killed several Hamas senior leaders, though one in particular, Yahya Sinwar, remains at large. He is believed to be hiding in Hamas’s underground maze of tunnels throughout the strip.

Hamas is one of several militant groups that is supported by Iran, while several of the other groups have carried out frequent attacks against Israeli or U.S. interests in the region. Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon, has engaged in a limited war with Israel. An all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah would be more destructive and deadly, experts believe, given Hezbollah’s larger and more sophisticated arsenal than Hamas.