Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said Washington will continue to pressure Israel and other players in the Middle East to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza even as advocates say that the United States has not thus far used its leverage over its ally.

Vice President Kamala Harris said she won’t stop pressuring Israel to end its military campaign in the Middle East, emphasizing that the US still has a critical role in the region as the conflict reaches the one-year mark.

Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested in cities around the world on Sunday on the eve of the first anniversary of the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.

Some wore keffiyeh scarfs, waved Palestinian and Lebanese flags and held a large cardboard image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with red paint symbolizing blood across his face.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in several major cities around the world on Saturday to demand an end to bloodshed in Gaza, as the conflict in the Palestinian enclave approaches its first anniversary and spreads in the wider region.