DMFI once again unequivocally condemns the deadly assault on Israel by Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza. Over 1,000 rockets have been fired at Israel in the past few days, killing young and old, Arab and Jew — blowing up schools, buses, and homes. Over 15,000 rockets have been fired from Gaza since Israel removed every soldier and settler from the area 16 years ago.
As Secretary of State Antony Blinken rightly noted, Israel had taken steps to de-escalate the conflict: It rerouted the Jerusalem Day parade and halted hearings on the evictions in Sheikh Jarrah.
Sadly, Hamas has chosen to dramatically escalate their violent attacks, which only cause more pain and suffering for everyone. Indeed, it is difficult to see their actions as anything other than a declaration of war against Israel.
The loss of innocent Israeli and Palestinian lives is tragic and causes us great anguish. Hamas bears responsibility for those deaths. Every one of those individuals would be alive today had Hamas not fired more than a thousand rockets at Israel.
We are grateful to the Biden administration and so many Democratic members of Congress for providing moral clarity on this conflict by reiterating Israel’s right to defend itself and condemning the ongoing rocket attacks that are leaving families scrambling to find bomb shelters in the seconds before bombs explode.
The events of the past few days also serve as a powerful reminder of the importance of U.S. military assistance to Israel, codified in the Memorandum of Understanding agreed to by the Obama-Biden administration. That assistance helps fund the Iron Dome missile defense system, which has saved countless lives over the past few days. If others had their way, and had that aid been cut, we’d be facing thousands of casualties today.
Like most Democrats, and most Americans, we stand in faithful solidarity with Israel and its people always, but especially during these trying days.
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