Renewed Calls for Ceasefire Emerge Amid Hostage Crisis in Gaza
On Sunday, several U. S. Democratic lawmakers escalated their demand for an immediate cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas after the unfortunate shooting dead of six hostages in a tunnel under Gaza. At the same time, Republicans blamed the mins leadership in person of president Joe Biden and Vice president Kamala Harris for what they deemed as inadequate support to Israel given the current conflict.
Six hostages in a tunnel in Gaza were reported killed by the Israeli military among which was the Israeli American citizen; Hersh Goldberg-Polin. This should be so given that it has been reported that the hostages were murdered moments before the Israeli troops could rescue them. The whole event has caused a stir amongst Israeli citizens, people are angered by the inability of the government to rescue hostages. Protests are now being organized in relation to it.
President Joe Biden called the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin himself to extend his condolences. The couple was previously in the Democratic National Convention system my attention in their son’s situation. Also, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had a telephonic conversation with the families of the kidnapped American hostages by Hamas in Gaza and an update on recent mediation process.
Democratic Senator Dick Durbin also condemned the incident in which Goldberg-Polin lost his life stressing the need to STOP KILLING. “There must be an immediate ceasefire which enables the release of all the remaining hostages, the delivery of humanitarian supplies to Gaza Strip and last but not a least an acceptable and long lost vision for a peaceful and stable Middle East. ” Durbin concluded stating exactly the feeling of other U. S. officials and lawmakers.
Thus, Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of Sagui of American citizenship who is also among the hostages, condemned Netanyahu’s government for its unwillingness to negotiate with Hamas and free the hostages. Dekel-Chen stressed that the attitudes of Israel’s military and intelligence agencies began changing at that time with many people overall believing that it was time to cease the operations and to concentrate on the process of hostage releasing.
On the other side of the political divide, Republican politicians did not call for the cease of hostilities but instead accused the Biden-Harris administration of not offering sufficient support to Israel. Senator Tom Cotton’s criticism was as follows, the administration has been ‘encouraging and emboldening Hamas’ through supporting ceasefire efforts. He asked Netanyahu to “finish the job against Hamas,” a position he thinks that the U. S leadership should have held from the onset.
Speaking from the White House early Saturday evening, Harris called Hamas ‘’an evil terrorist organization’’ for the deaths but did not call for a cease-fire but rather urged the world to condemn the group. She later offered an apology to the parents of Goldberg-Polin and restated her attitude about the act by Hamas.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham urged applying more pressure on Iran, which plays the role of Hamas’ main sponsor. On ABC’s ‘This Week,’ Graham said the Biden administration and Israel should make in Iran for the hostages and offered that Iranian oil refineries be bombed if the hostages were not freed.
The strife continues, and Gaza is still of paramount importance to worldwide attention so that as the protectors and those being held hostages have their vision of how to resolve conflict and crisis, so do the others.
