Progressive House Democrats have brought forward a resolution urging President Joe Biden to call for de-escalation and a ceasefire to halt the ongoing fighting in Israel and Gaza.
Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) submitted the resolution just over a week after members of the Hamas terrorist group breached the Israel-Gaza barrier on Oct. 7 and carried out an hours-long attack in southern Israel, killing an estimated 1,400 people before returning to Gaza with at least 200 hostages. Israeli forces have conducted airstrikes on Hamas positions in Gaza, which, according to the local health ministry, had resulted in the deaths of more than 2,600 people as of Oct. 17.
“I am grieving for every Palestinian, Israeli, and American life lost to this violence, and my heart breaks for all those who will be forever traumatized because of it. War and retaliatory violence doesn’t achieve accountability or justice; it only leads to more death and human suffering,” Ms. Bush stated in a press release on Monday.
The ceasefire resolution was co-sponsored by members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, including Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.).
In one of his initial responses to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, President Biden said the United States would increase military assistance and ammunition supplies to Israel, and replenish their Iron Dome missile defense system. The U.S. military has now begun repositioning two carrier strike groups and multiple additional fighter jet squadrons to the region to deter any additional attacks on Israel as it carries out its military operations in Gaza.
Beyond airstrikes on Hamas positions, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been making preparations for an apparent ground offensive in Gaza, and several Israeli officials have called for an operation to destroy Hamas outright. Both the U.S. and Israeli governments have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization, and President Biden has also voiced his support for eliminating the terrorist group. During an Oct. 15 interview on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” program, President Biden said he’s confident the Israeli forces will follow the laws of armed conflict and make sufficient efforts to avoid civilian deaths as they carry out their military operations in Gaza.
Rather than allowing the Israeli military to proceed with their Gaza campaign, however, the supporters of the ceasefire resolution are calling on President Biden to sue for peace now.
“The United States bears a unique responsibility to exhaust every diplomatic tool at our disposal to prevent mass atrocities and save lives,” Ms. Bush said on Monday. “We can’t bomb our way to peace, equality, and freedom. With thousands of lives lost and millions more at stake, we need a ceasefire now.”
Resolution Includes Humanitarian Aid to Gaza
In addition to pushing for an immediate ceasefire, the resolution also calls on the Biden administration to step up humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
Israel has maintained control over the flow of people in and out of the Gaza Strip, as well as the flow of essential items into the area. In the wake of the Oct. 7 attack, Israel halted the flow of food, water, fuel, and electricity into Gaza.
In addition to the people killed in the Israeli strikes, Gaza’s health ministry has claimed that more than 9,600 people have been injured.
Shortly after the Oct. 7 attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for Gaza residents to evacuate in order to avoid the intensifying IDF operations against Hamas.
The United Nations has estimated that around 1 million people, or about half of Gaza’s population, have been displaced since Oct. 7. Around 400,000 are in U.N. Relief and Works Agency facilities—far exceeding the agency’s current capacity to assist people.
“I condemn the horrific attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians, and I also condemn the Israeli government’s cruel response on millions of Palestinians. The answer to violence is not more violence. The answer is not military response and more killing of innocent children and women. Gaza’s 2 million civilian residents—half of whom are children—are particularly vulnerable right now,” Rep. Carson said on Monday. “The Israeli government cut off Gaza’s medical supply, food, fuel, water, and electricity; announced plans for ground military operations against civilians; and warned 1 million North Gaza residents to evacuate their homes. Palestinians are already surrounded by long-term military blockades—they have literally nowhere to go.”
Speakership Vote Impacts US Legislative Responses
The ceasefire resolution is unlikely to see much progress until a new speaker of the House is elected.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is currently working to coalesce support around his bid for the speakership, and the House could vote him in as speaker on Tuesday. Even after a speaker is selected, however, it remains to be seen how the House will respond to the ceasefire resolution.
Mr. Jordan has already signaled his support for Israel’s military response.
“We must continue to support our great ally as it expels this invasion, overwhelms these extremists, and works to prevent Hamas from ever harming Israeli citizens again,” Mr. Jordan said in a statement on Oct. 7, shortly after the Hamas attacks began in southern Israel.