5 Calls

Call for De-escalation and Ceasefire in Israel and Occupied Palestine

War erupted when the Palestinian group Hamas launched a highly coordinated attack against Israel from the besieged Gaza Strip, killing hundreds and taking two hundred or more people captive.

Israel has responded with a relentless bombing campaign that has killed thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of children in Gaza. The World Health Organization has also documented dozens of attacks on medical facilities in Gaza, which have killed at least 12 health workers.

This is a humanitarian crisis, and the Biden administration, while roundly condemning the actions of Hamas, should push for an end to the siege and bombing of innocent and helpless residents of Gaza, which is home to 2.2 million people who are unable to leave due to decades of blockades by Egypt and Israel. Collective punishment is considered a war crime by the Geneva Convention and should be condemned.

Progressive legislators have introduced H.Res.786, a congressional resolution urging “an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine.” The proposed resolution reads, “All human life is precious, and the targeting of civilians, no matter their faith or ethnicity, is a violation of international humanitarian law.”