Congresswoman Escobar Releases Statement on Genocide in Gaza

Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) released the following statement:

"Today, the families of hostages taken by Hamas are protesting outside of the Israeli Prime Minister's residence demanding he prioritize the safe return of their loved ones and end the war; the United Nations' Human Rights Council released a 70-page report concluding beyond a doubt that the Israeli authorities have the genocidal intent to destroy the Palestinian people; and, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again authorized the invasion of Gaza City.

"The families of hostages have made clear their belief that Netanyahu is waging an endless war for political reasons, endangering the lives of all hostages. They wrote: 'there is one obstacle to returning the 48 hostages and ending the war: Prime Minister Netanyahu.'

"At the same time, the Human Rights Council has concluded '…that the State of Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza as a group, namely for the acts enumerated under articles II(a)-(d) of the Genocide Convention…"

"Currently, over 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, including over 18,500 children. Palestinians have the world's highest number of child amputees per capita, and hundreds of children have died of starvation. Journalists, aid workers, doctors and healthcare providers have been killed. Entire families have been wiped out. There is famine in Gaza. Lethal force is employed for the crowd control operations of desperate and starving people waiting in line for the limited food available. Civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, housing, agriculture and schools have been obliterated making Gaza unrecognizable. At this point only 1.5% of Gaza's crop land is available for cultivation. Ninety percent of Gaza's population has been displaced, most multiple times.

"There is no safe place in Gaza, and there is no end in sight.

"As a member of Congress, I have a responsibility to identify and speak against what is happening: this is genocide.

"This does not diminish the inhumanity of what Hamas - a terrorist organization - did on October 7th, and that the hostages being held in Gaza must be released; it doesn't change that we are witnessing an unacceptable rise of antisemitism in our own country, sadly even in my own community. It is also not lost on me that the word 'genocide,' coined in direct response to atrocities of the Holocaust, holds great pain for many in the Jewish community. It is a call to reflect on our shared humanity; that never again must mean never again."

"Netanyahu needs to heed the callls of his own people and the world must act quickly to end the horror of what is happening, stop the suffering, and forge peace."