On Wednesday, a group of at least nine Democratic lawmakers wore blue at the Capitol to express solidarity with Israeli hostages still being held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“Today, I joined my colleagues in wearing blue in solidarity with the Israeli hostages because enough is enough,” said Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Florida). I wrote in X’s post on Wednesday., the platform formerly known as Twitter. “It’s time to bring the hostages back. And until the hostages are released, we will wear blue every Wednesday.”
Florida Democrats include Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Florida), Rep. Emilia Strong-Sykes (Ohio), Rep. Debbie Dingell (Michigan), Rep. Dan Goldman (New York), and Cathy. He attached a photo of himself in a blue pantsuit with the members of Congress. Manning (North Carolina), Jennifer McClellan (Virginia), Nikema Williams (Georgia), Brad Schneider (Illinois)
Families of hostages still held by Hamas appeared Wednesday with a bipartisan group of House members, including Wasserman Schultz, calling on the extremist group to release the hostages ahead of Thursday’s State of the Union address. .
Wasserman Schultz stressed that it was up to Hamas, the US-designated terrorist organization, to accept the temporary ceasefire agreement reportedly reached by Israel over the weekend.
“The ball is in Hamas’ court here,” Wasserman Schulz said at a press conference Wednesday. “We must tell Hamas to accept this deal now.”
If accepted by Hamas, the agreement would include a six-week ceasefire and allow Hamas to release hostages considered at risk, U.S. officials said. It would also pave the way for even more humanitarian aid to flow into the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by Israeli military operations.
More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds of thousands of others have been forced to flee their homes as Israel seeks to eliminate Hamas following an October 7 attack by the terrorist group in southern Israel that killed more than 1,200 people. I was disappointed. An estimated 240 people were taken hostage by Hamas in the October 7 attack, about 100 of whom were released during a week-long ceasefire late last year.
Families of the hostages also asked lawmakers and staff to wear yellow ribbons and dog tags to show solidarity during President Biden’s State of the Union address.
Some Democrats have recently stepped up their calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, and progressives have publicly criticized Biden for his handling of the conflict.
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