Posts tagged with "secretary blinken"

House Democrats Write Letter to Biden and Blinken Urging Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza

As Israel continues its bombardment of Gaza following the October 7 attack by Hamas that killed about 1,200 people, including the taking of 240 hostages, a group of lawmakers wrote a letter to President Biden and Secretary Blinken on Wednesday expressing their concern about the escalating violence in the region. They site the growing civilian casualties writing, “the Israeli Defense Forces have killed over 11,078 Palestinians, nearly half of whom have been children.”

The two dozen members write that, “without an immediate cessation of hostilities and the establishment of a robust bilateral ceasefire, this war will lead to a further loss of civilian life and risk dragging the United States into dangerous and unwise conflict with armed groups across the Middle East. Further, we write urging clarity on your strategic objectives for achieving de-escalation and stability in the region.”

The letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza was signed by the following Members of Congress:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Betty McCollum 

Mark Pocan 

Rashida Tlaib 

Cori Bush 

James P. McGovern 

Mary Gay Scanlon 

Raúl M. Grijalva

Pramila Jayapal 

Joaquin Castro 

Delia C. Ramirez

Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr.

Greg Casar 

Jesús G. “Chuy” García 

Bonnie Watson Coleman 

Nydia M. Velázquez 

Ayanna Pressley

Jonathan L. Jackson 

Barbara Lee 

André Carson 

Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D. 

Summer Lee 

Veronica Escobar 

Ilhan Omar