Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday with a rousing call to end the war in Gaza and to fight tyranny around the world, drawing a sharp contrast with Republican Donald Trump.

"In the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs," Harris said, accusing Trump of bowing down to dictators.

On the final, and most anticipated, night of the four-day Chicago convention, Harris, 59, promised to chart a "New Way Forward" as she and Trump, 78, enter the final 11 weeks of the razor-close campaign.

Harris emerged as the Democratic candidate little more than a month ago when allies of President Joe Biden, 81, forced him to quit the race.

It was a forceful speech for a candidate who, during her brief campaign, had yet to articulate much of her vision for the country and faced a stream of personal attacks from Trump, who mocked her Black and South Asian heritage and called her weak on the foreign stage.

The speech laid out some broad policy principles, foreign and domestic, but left unsaid specific details which in weeks to come she could be pressured to provide.

After days of protests from Palestinian supporters who were disappointed at not getting a speaking spot at the convention, Harris delivered a pledge to secure Israel, bring the hostages home from Gaza and end the war in the Palestinian enclave.

"Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done," she said to cheers. "And let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself."

"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."

In some of her strongest foreign policy statements to date, Harris said she would take whatever action was necessary to defend U.S. interests against Iran and would not cozy up to tyrants and dictators.

She said such leaders, including North Korea's Kim Jong Un, "are rooting for Trump."

She vowed to stand with Ukraine in its war against Russia and with NATO allies.