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\n\tHuman rights advocates are urgently calling on U.S. legislators to voice their opposition to the extreme right-wing administration of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. This plea comes as the Israeli government intensifies its 588-day offensive and blockade on the Gaza Strip, resulting in the death of at least 115 Palestinians due to strikes by the Israel Defense Forces on a recent Friday, exacerbating the severe famine conditions.\n<\/p>\n
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\n\tThe Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the foremost Muslim advocacy organization in the U.S., issued an open letter on Friday composed by Robert S. McCaw, the group’s director of government affairs. The letter implores every member of Congress to outspokenly condemn the Israeli government’s intent to “occupy and decimate” Gaza, corralling any survivors into camps before ultimately forcing them from their homeland.\n<\/p>\n
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\n\tIn recent days, the death toll of Palestinians has surged as Israeli forces continue with Operation Gideon’s Chariots. This military strategy aims to subjugate and permanently occupy Gaza, cleansing much of its population ethnically, potentially to prepare for the resettlement of the territory by Jewish populations, a plan supported by many in the Israeli government.\n<\/p>\n
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\n\tReports from both local and global media outlets have confirmed that Israeli attacks since the early hours of Friday have killed at least 115 Palestinians, including children. The attacks, involving airstrikes, artillery, and tanks, have been concentrated around Beit Lahia and the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.\n<\/p>\n
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\n\tMcCaw’s letter highlights Netanyahu’s declaration that the military operations in Gaza will proceed regardless of any hostages being released. Netanyahu has committed to a full reoccupation of Gaza and the displacement of its Palestinian residents. His government has approved a ground invasion and permanent military presence in Gaza, with one senior minister stating that Gaza will be “completely annihilated.”\n<\/p>\n
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\n\t“The time to act is now. We urge you to denounce Netanyahu’s strategy, demand an immediate cessation of this genocidal conflict, and commit to halting further arms sales to Israel unless it ceases its human rights violations,” the letter further states. It argues that as long as Israel believes it will continue to receive unconditional U.S. support financially, militarily, and diplomatically, Netanyahu will see no reason to alter his approach.\n<\/p>\n
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\n\tNetanyahu is accused by both Israeli and international critics of endangering the lives of 23 hostages still held by Hamas by extending the conflict, ostensibly to delay facing charges in his ongoing corruption trial.\n<\/p>\n
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\n\t“Netanyahu’s intentions are clear: obliterate Gaza and carry out the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, even if it involves the starvation and killing of Israeli hostages,” CAIR stated. \u201cThere’s no more time to remain passive, issue symbolic statements, or hope for a better outcome.”\n<\/p>\n
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\n\t“Netanyahu\u2019s explicit intent is the destruction of Gaza and the ethnic cleansing of its Palestinian inhabitants.”\n<\/p>\n
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\n\t“Children are being torn apart every hour by American-supplied weapons,” the group decried. “Infants are dying of hunger as food spoils just beyond the Gaza border. Parents are perishing alongside them, and the Israeli hostages in Gaza also face the grim prospects of starvation or death from indiscriminate bombings.”\n<\/p>\n
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\n\t“Please raise your voice loudly and demand an end to this catastrophe before it’s too late,” implores the letter.\n<\/p>\n
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\n\tEarlier in the week, Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, was detained after interrupting a Senate hearing. He protested, “Congress kills poor kids in Gaza by purchasing bombs, and funds it by removing U.S. children from Medicaid,” as he was escorted out by police.\n<\/p>\n
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\n\t“Congress and the senators must alleviate the siege,” Cohen insisted. “They need to allow food into Gaza. They have to feed the starving children!”\n<\/p>\n
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\n\tThe most recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, released Monday, indicates that 244,000 individuals in Gaza are now experiencing Phase 5 conditions\u2014extreme deprivation of food leading to starvation, death, destitution, and critically high levels of acute malnutrition.\n<\/p>\n
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\n\tDozens of Palestinians, including at least 57 children and 14 elderly individuals, have succumbed to severe malnutrition compounded by inadequate medical care across Gaza, as noted by UN experts and human rights organizations recently.\n<\/p>\n
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\n\tSince Hamas assumed control in 2007, the Israeli blockade has inflicted widespread suffering on Gazans, now further exacerbated by a “complete siege” imposed by Israel immediately following the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. This siege was intensified on March 2 when Israel halted the entry of all essential supplies, including food, medicine, fuel, and cooking gas.\n<\/p>\n
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\n\tIsrael’s blockade, its use of starvation as a warfare tactic, the killing or injuring of over 187,000 Palestinians, mass forced displacements, and genocidal rhetoric are currently under examination at The Hague as part of a genocide case led by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice.\n<\/p>\n
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\n\tNetanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, including extermination and forced starvation.\n<\/p>\n
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\n\tOn the same Friday, CAIR welcomed a resolution endorsed by 27 Democratic and two Independent U.S. senators urging President Donald Trump’s administration to employ “all available diplomatic tools” to end Israel’s assault on Gaza, secure the release of hostages, and lift the siege to facilitate the “urgent delivery of humanitarian aid for civilians.”\n<\/p>\n
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\n\tWhile many Israelis and their supporters globally deny the existence of a famine in Gaza, both Trump and his ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, have acknowledged the dire food shortages. On the last day of his Middle East tour, Trump remarked in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, that “many people are starving” in Gaza, committing to address the issue.\n<\/p>\n
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\n\tYet, Huckabee recently conceded that a joint U.S.-Israeli initiative to deliver limited humanitarian aid to parts of Gaza would initially reach only about 60% of the population, a plan dismissed by the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations operating in the area.\n<\/p>\n
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