Raskin Statement on the Second Anniversary of October 7 Terrorist Attacks

Washington, D.C. - Two years after Hamas' terrorist attacks against Israel, Representative Jamie Raskin (MD-08) released the following statement:

"Hamas' horrific terrorist atrocities against civilian communities in Israel on October 7, 2023, mark a day of shame and debasement for all humanity. In the deadliest attack on Jewish civilians since the Holocaust, Hamas militants murdered nearly 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped more than 250 babies, children, adults and elders. They committed unspeakable acts of sexual violence and torture. Entire kibbutzim were wiped out. The survivors of the attack that day, and the entire nation of Israel, are living in the traumatic aftermath. Two years later we continue to stand with the hostage families and loved ones of the victims who are in the streets demanding an immediate negotiated ceasefire to this savage war that followed and immediate release of the remaining 48 hostages, living and dead.

"Today also marks the second anniversary of the devastating war of mass destruction in Gaza, which has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, a majority of them women, children and babies, and plunged the region into a widening spiral of chaos and bloodshed. Each passing day brings new suffering to the Palestinian people, who continue to face often indiscriminate Israeli bombardment, mass displacement, rampant disease and severe hunger. Famine is rampant in sections of Gaza due to the Netanyahu government's restrictions on food, infant formula, medicine and other humanitarian aid entering the territory. The American people are horrified by the daily violations of human rights and the laws of war we see on TV and on-line, and we are demanding an immediate return of the hostages, ceasefire, peace agreement and diplomatic progress towards a two-state solution, mutual security and defense of human rights and the territorial sovereignty of both sides.

"I continue to hear each day from my constituents stories of pain from their families and friends in both Israel and Gaza. They speak of the mutual descent into cruelty and savage violence and pray for the imperative of peace and reconciliation. All parties to the conflict must finally come to the negotiating table and put an end to the vicious and hopeless cycles of terror, occupation and war in the region and create a path towards lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, for the sake of both these desperate peoples and all the people of the world."

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