Brooklyn, NY – Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries released the following statement marking six months since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7:

Six months ago, Hamas launched a horrific terrorist attack against Israel, murdering 1200 people, kidnapping more than 240, and committing vicious atrocities that destroyed entire communities, traumatized the nation, and directly led to an increase in antisemitic hate against Jews throughout the world. On this solemn six-month observance, it’s important that we reaffirm Israel’s unequivocal right to exist as a Jewish, Democratic state and eternal homeland for the Jewish people. The special relationship between the United States and Israel will always endure. 

Hamas must be decisively defeated so that the atrocities that occurred on October 7 never happen again and the hostages are safely returned home. At the same time, it is critically important that Israel prosecute the war against Hamas with surgical precision in a manner that substantially mitigates the possibility that innocent Palestinian civilians and humanitarian relief workers are killed or harmed in any way. The death of thousands of Palestinian women, children and civilians over the last six months is heartbreaking and deeply disturbing. The IDF must conduct itself at all times in strict adherence to the international rules of war. 

The United States must ensure that food, water, medicine and humanitarian aid are surged into Gaza without obstruction, so that famine and starvation are averted. The recent killing of the World Central Kitchen aid workers further underscores the urgent need to do more to keep civilians safe and to surge humanitarian relief into Gaza. I am thankful that as a result of the leadership of President Joe Biden, Israel has intensified its commitment to increase the amount of humanitarian assistance entering Gaza, including by opening the Ashdod port and Erez crossing and significantly facilitating direct aid deliveries from Jordan. 

Moving forward, I strongly support the Biden administration’s call for a negotiated resolution of the immediate conflict that is swift and lays a foundation for a just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinian people. Upon the complete restoration of Israeli security and comprehensive reconstruction of Gaza, the only way forward is an enduring two-state solution with a safe and secure Israel living side by side with a thriving and demilitarized Palestinian state, providing dignity and self-determination for the people of Gaza and the West Bank. 

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