McCollum, Pocan, Ocasio-Cortez Call on Biden Administration to Establish a Ceasefire, Protect Children in the Gaza Strip

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04), Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), and Congressman Mark Pocan (WI-02), have sent a letter to the Biden administration expressing concern and calling for immediate action to protect the rights of children in Gaza, Israel, and the West Bank.

Congresswoman McCollum released the following statement:

“Since the brutal attacks by Hamas, which took the lives of innocent Israeli civilians, including children, it has been deeply disturbing to see children continue to bear the awful toll of this war. Thousands of children in Gaza have been killed and thousands more are suffering without access to food, water, medical care, or safe shelter. Without an immediate humanitarian pause and the establishment of a regional ceasefire among all parties, this war could spread throughout the region. Humanitarian aid is urgently needed in Gaza, as is clarity about the strategic objectives for achieving peace and long-term stability. Actions we take today can be a foundation for a lasting peace in the future.”  

This letter urges the President and Secretary Blinken to:

• Establish an immediate pause to prevent further violence and allow desperately-needed humanitarian aid to enter Gaza
• Provide clarity on the administration’s strategic objectives for achieving de-escalation and stability in the region
• Establish a ceasefire via regional engagement and working with international humanitarian organizations

The letter is endorsed by MoveOn, Amnesty International, Demand Progress, Center for International Policy, Center for Jewish Nonviolence, Churches for Middle East Peace, CIVIC, Common Defense, Friends Committee for National Legislation (FCNL), MADRE, Oxfam America, Win Without War, POMED, Working Families Party, Action Corps, Adalah Justice Project, American Friends Service Committee, Americans Justice In Palestine, Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), Democracy for Arab World Now, IfNotNow, Institute for Policy Studies New Internationalism Project, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Migrant Roots Media, National Iranian American Council Action, Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore, Pax Christi USA, Peace Action, Peace Action Montgomery, The Duty Legacy, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Women for Weapons Trade Transparency and the Yemeni Alliance Committee.

The letter is co-signed by Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush, James McGovern, Mary Gay Scanlon, Raúl Grijalva, Pramila Jayapal, Joaquin Castro, Delia Ramirez, Henry Johnson, Greg Casar, Jesús “Chuy” Garcia, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Nydia Velázquez, Ayanna Pressley, Jonathan Jackson, Barbara Lee, André Carson, Jamaal Bowman, Summer Lee, Veronica Escobar, and Ilhan Omar.

The full text of the letter is available here and below.

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr. The Honorable Antony Blinken
The White House Department of State
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue 2201 C St. NW
Washington, DC 20500 Washington, DC 20520

Dear President Biden and Secretary Blinken,

We write to you to express deep concern about the intensifying war in Gaza, particularly grave violations against children, and our fear that without an immediate cessation of hostilities and the establishment of a robust bilateral ceasefire, this war will lead to a further loss of civilian life and risk dragging the United States into dangerous and unwise conflict with armed groups across the Middle East. Further, we write urging clarity on your strategic objectives for achieving de-escalation and stability in the region.

We reaffirm our unequivocal condemnation of the Hamas attacks on Israel that took place on October 7th, in which Hamas killed over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, and captured over 200 hostages, who were subsequently taken to Gaza. While exact figures have not yet been released, Israeli authorities so far have confirmed the identity of 516 civilians killed, including 31 children, and at least 20 children who have been abducted by Palestinian armed groups.^[1]

We also share dire concerns with the ongoing Israeli response, in which the Israeli Defense Forces have killed over 11,078 Palestinians, nearly half of whom have been children. During the past 37 days of hostilities, at least 4,500 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip and at least 7,695 children have sustained injuries. Additionally, about 3,250 Palestinians in Gaza, including at least 1,700 children, have been reported missing and are presumed to be trapped or dead under the rubble, awaiting rescue or recovery.^[2] During this same time, Israeli forces or settlers have killed 51 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank.^{[3] [4] [5]}

We are profoundly shocked by the grave violations of children’s rights in the context of armed conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. International norms require that all parties to an armed conflict protect children and prevent the commission of grave violations against them, including killing and maiming, attacks on schools and hospitals, recruitment and use of children, abduction of children, and denial of humanitarian access.^[6]

Of the total 2.2 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, nearly half are children. In addition to the threat of widespread Israeli airstrikes on residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, these children face further imminent threats due to Israeli government restrictions on food, water, fuel, and other humanitarian assistance being able to reach these children and their families. To date, 285 Educational facilities in Gaza have been affected, including at least 29 United Nations-run schools.^[7] Eight of these schools were used as emergency shelters for internally displaced people in Gaza, with at least one of them being directly hit in an Israeli airstrike. More than half of medical facilities in the Gaza Strip have completely shut down, according to the World Health Organization, including 22 out of Gaza’s 35 hospitals.^{[8] [9]} Additionally, Israel has now carried out multiple strikes on five refugee camps inside Gaza, resulting in civilian casualties.^[10]

We commend your Administration’s goals of seeing a major expansion of humanitarian supplies arriving into Gaza. While we greatly welcome your work, it has had limited impact on the ground so far and, we believe, risks undermining the United States’ own credibility in the region.^[11] We urge an immediate cessation of hostilities in order to stop the bombing and provide much-needed relief to Palestinian civilians.

In his remarks reflecting on the October 7th attacks, the President acknowledged U.S. mistakes in the aftermath of September 11th and advised that an appropriate response “requires being deliberate. It requires asking very hard questions. It requires clarity about the objectives and an honest assessment about whether the path you are on will achieve those objectives.”^[12] These wise words should continue to inform U.S. counsel to Israel’s response. Recognizing that there is no military solution that will end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we urge your Administration to obtain clarity on the specific strategic objectives of a large-scale ground invasion, their achievability, what may come after Hamas, the risks to hostages and civilians in the region, the national security implications of a multi-front war in the Middle East, and the potential threats to American citizens in the region.

We thank the President for calling for a humanitarian pause so that humanitarian aid may flow and diplomacy may take place. However, given the present lack of an apparent and clear strategic plan, we encourage a redoubling of efforts to achieve rapid de-escalation through a ceasefire and robust, regional engagement that includes international humanitarian organizations. We understand that the Administration has serious concerns regarding the objectives and consequences of a large-scale ground offensive, and we urge you to press this case directly.

Thank you for your time and consideration, and we look forward to your response.

[Members of Congress]

^[1] “Hamas Hostages: Who Are the People Taken from Israel?” BBC News, BBC, 2 Nov. 2023.

² Associated Press. “Live Updates: Palestinians Report Deadly Israeli Airstrikes Including in Southern Gaza.” AP News, 4 Nov. 2023.

³ “At least 16 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank.” Al Jazeera. Accessed 13 Nov. 2023.

⁴ “Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel - Reported Impact: Day 37.” United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Accessed 13 Nov. 2023.

⁵ All casualty statistics are current as of at least 12 Nov. 2023

⁶ The Six Grave Violations – Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, United Nations. Accessed 4 Nov. 2023.

⁷ Israel-Palestine: Gaza Death Toll Passes 5,000 with No Ceasefire in Sight | UN News, United Nations. Accessed 4 Nov. 2023.

⁸ “UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO Regional Directors call for immediate action to halt attacks on health care in Gaza.” World Health Organization, Eastern Mediterranean Region. Accessed 13 Nov. 2023.

⁹ “Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel - Reported Impact: Day 37.”

¹⁰ ​​No Place of Refuge: Israeli Strikes Hit Camps in Gaza, Reuters. Accessed 4 Nov. 2023.

¹¹ As of November 13, 2023, only 981 trucks carrying aid have entered Gaza since October 21, 2023.

¹² “Remarks by President Biden on the October 7th Terrorist Attacks and the Resilience of the State of Israel and Its People.” The White House, 18 Oct. 2023.

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