From CNN on April 1: “Palestinians began arriving at the destroyed complex to search for missing family members. ‘We found entire families dead and their bodies are decomposed in houses around the hospital,’ he said. Survivors in the complex are malnourished, he added, with some saying they had to share one battle of water between six people each day. ‘The situation is very bad,’ said Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense, on Monday. Al-Shifa is ‘completely destroyed and burned down. Many of its buildings are totally destroyed or charred,’ he said. Images from the area showed widespread destruction with charred and pockmarked buildings inside the complex. More than 30 wounded people were transported from Al-Shifa to the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital east of Gaza city, Bassal said. Several decomposed and disfigured bodies partly buried beneath the rubble of what was once the structures of Gaza’s largest hospital can be seen in videos from obtained by CNN.”
President Biden continues to supply and fund Israel while knowing since October 2023 that Israel has been targeting civilians. This is continued participation in this genocide and a violation of Leahy law, which prohibits our government from funding foreign forces who are implicated in gross human rights violations. Global human rights organizations have repeatedly reported on Israel’s gross human rights violations and war crimes, including targeting hospitals and healthcare workers, targeting journalists and civilians, using starvation as a weapon, etc. As people of conscience, we will not ignore this.
I support a ceasefire, along with the U.N. Security Council Resolution on March 25 and the majority of Americans (including 77% of Democrats and 56% of Republicans) who support a permanent ceasefire (Data for Progress, February 2024 report). We are paying attention to representatives who publicly call for a permanent ceasefire and ensure UNWRA aid, which will shape the 2024 elections. I want you to cosponsor HR 786 by Rep Bush.
I am demanding you to take immediate steps to deescalate violence in Gaza and Israel by calling for 1) a total and permanent ceasefire, 2) humanitarian aid allowed to enter Gaza, 3) an end to Israel's siege on Gaza, 4) the release of all Palestinian and Israeli hostages, 5) no more weapons or funding to the Israeli military, 6) the reinstatement of UNRWA funding. A permanent ceasefire is an absolutely critical step to ensuring everlasting liberation and peace.
The ICJ ruled that Israel should do everything in its power to prevent genocide. Never again means never again for anyone. Palestinians deserve to live with freedom and safety which means first stopping this genocide and then ensuring liberation from occupation and apartheid. The liberation and safety of Palestinians, Israelis, Jewish people, and Muslim people are intertwined. There can only be true safety when we are all free from oppression.
First sent on April 4 by Alice
