Congress must act to help Gazans

During his recent trip to Israel, which was organized by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a prominent pro-Israel lobbying organization, Rep. Brad Schneider, an Illinois Democrat, talked about the importance of increasing food and medical aid to Gaza.

Notably, at a January 2024 press conference, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that, in order to achieve its war goals, “We provide minimal humanitarian aid.”

Moreover, Israel did not allow any aid to enter the Gaza Strip for 77 days, from March 2 until May 18. This was after Israel devastated Gaza's fields, orchards, greenhouses and water infrastructure.

As famine expert Alex de Waal observed: “I’ve been working on this field of famine, food crisis and humanitarian action for more than 40 years, and there is no case, over those four decades, of such minutely engineered, closely monitored, precisely designed mass starvation of a population as is happening in Gaza today.”

In addition, on July 23, over 100 humanitarian organizations declared that Gaza faces mass starvation and called on governments worldwide to end Israel's restrictions on lifesaving aid.

Rep. Schneider and other members of Congress must act immediately to stop Israel's abuses and protect innocent lives.

Terry Hansen

Milwaukee