Ceasefire talk progress 'meaningless' without deal, VP Harris tells Stephen Colbert

Vice President and Democratic nominee for the 2024 presidential election, Kamala Harris, appeared on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night, where she spoke with Colbert about October 7 and the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Colbert noted the one-year anniversary of the Hamas massacre of 1,200 people in southern Israel.

"Many people at this point, a year in, are not only horrified by what they're seeing, but some people throw up their hands because they see no hope for any sort of peaceful resolution, especially with the conflict spreading to southern Lebanon, Hezbollah, and the attacks by Iran on Israel now," Colbert observed.

The talk show host asked the vice president what could give people a reason to keep paying attention to the conflict in the Middle East, to which she responded, "We must always retain some level of faith in what is possible in terms of shining a light on a moment of darkness."

Harris: Ceasefire, hostage deal must be implemented immediately 

Harris also noted on the show that a ceasefire-hostage release deal must be implemented "as immediately as possible."

"This war has got to end," the vice president said. "It's got to end. And we cannot lose some belief in its possibility. Because, to your point, we throw up our hands instead of rolling up our sleeves. But it is complex. It is a conversation that requires probably more time than you and I have right now."

Colbert then asked about the numerous times that a ceasefire deal was "close" and asked Harris to elaborate on how a deal has never been implemented since November.

"Close means that a lot of the details have been worked out, but details remained," she said. "And so there has been some progress. But it is meaningless unless a deal is actually reached. So, I don't want to suggest to you that we should be applauded for getting close at times to a deal. The reality of it is that 1,200 people were massacred. There are still hostages being held in Gaza." 

She also said that she met with families of hostages, both dead and alive, who are still in Hamas captivity. She also told the late-night host that she's met with families of Palestinians who have been killed in Gaza.

"There is pain, pain and suffering that is happening in that region of the world, and we must work, and the United States must work and not lose hope and not throw up our hands around the role we must play in urging and seeking and building toward a resolution," she added. "And the first thing that's going to unlock that is that we've got to get a deal done. We're not going to give up."