As "Operation Guardian of the Walls” enters its eighth day, a group of 29 Senate Democrats issued a short statement on Sunday, calling for a ceasefire agreement.
“To prevent any further loss of civilian life and to prevent further escalation of conflict in Israel and the Palestinian territories, we urge an immediate ceasefire,” the senators said in a joint statement. Jon Ossoff, the first Jewish senator from Georgia, led the letter.
Among the senators who signed the letters are Sen. Cory Booker from New Jersey, Sen. Bernie Sanders from Vermont, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts.
On Monday, eight House Democrats joined their Senate colleagues and issued another statement urging Biden to reach a ceasefire. Representatives David Price (D-NC), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), and Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) are among those who signed the statement. “The recent outbreak of violence in Israel and Gaza has led to hundreds of casualties. Innocent lives have been lost,” they wrote. “It is of the utmost necessity that an immediate ceasefire be put in place and further bloodshed averted. The alternative is an unfolding human tragedy of unimaginable dimensions.”
“Long-deferred issues demand attention, but a ceasefire comes first. We urge the Biden administration, at the highest levels, to boldly lead and take decisive action,” they added.
Earlier on Sunday, US President Joe Biden released a video message for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, saying that his administration is working with Israel, the Palestinians and other countries to restore calm. “We believe Palestinians and Israelis equally deserve to live in safety and security, and enjoy an equal measure of freedom, prosperity and democracy,” said the president. “My administration is going to continue to engage Palestinians and Israelis and other regional partners to work towards sustained calm.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Sunday with senior officials from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar about the situation, and on Monday with the foreign ministers of Jordan and Tunisia as part of his diplomatic efforts.In his conversation with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the two “discussed the ongoing efforts to calm tensions in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza, and bring the current violence to an end,” the State Department said in a statement.
Israel’s Ambassador to the US and UN, Gilad Erdan, addressed the UN Security Council on Sunday and said that this is not the first time that Hamas has indiscriminately fired deadly missiles at Israeli civilians while hiding behind Palestinian civilians. “But this time it’s different,” he said. "It was completely premeditated by Hamas in order to gain political power."
It was “a massive, unprovoked assault by Hamas initiated not as a result of any incidents involving Israel, but due to internal Palestinian political maneuvering,” Erdan said. “This assault has forced Israel to defend and protect its citizens and strike Hamas’s terror machine in order to stop their aggression once and for all.”