WASHINGTON
US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib led 19 members of Congress in a letter Monday to the Trump administration to urge it to stop the Israeli government's starvation of Gaza and killing of Palestinians.
"We are outraged at the weaponization of humanitarian aid and escalating use of starvation as a weapon of war by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people in Gaza," the lawmakers wrote in the letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
For over three months, they said Israeli authorities have blocked nearly all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, fueling mass starvation and suffering among over 2 million people.
"Instead of enabling the swift delivery of humanitarian aid, Israel is actively dismantling and weaponizing it.
"We reject the Israeli government’s new plan—backed by the Trump administration—to militarize food distribution and take full control of humanitarian operations in Gaza," they said, adding the plan fails to meet basic international standards and has been rejected by UN officials.
“We cannot be silent," they wrote.
"This current blockade is starving Palestinian civilians in violation of international law, and the militarization of food will not help. We demand an immediate end to the blockade, an immediate resumption of unfettered humanitarian aid entry into Gaza, the restoration of U.S. funding to UNRWA, and an immediate and lasting ceasefire. Any other path forward is a path toward greater hunger, famine, and death," they added.
The letter comes as Israel continues its offensive on the besieged Gaza Strip.
The US said Monday that it would not halt support to a Gaza humanitarian aid initiative despite Israel's acknowledgment that civilians were harmed in strikes near aid distribution centers.
Responding to questions at a briefing, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce rejected the idea of reconsidering US assistance to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), whose aid distribution sites have been described as “death traps” by critics.
"The IDF (Israeli army) and Israel have announced that they are, of course, investigating certain incidents," Bruce said.
Since October 2023, more than 56,500 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to Gaza health authorities.
The US has faced mounting criticism for its continued military support to Israel amid the rising civilian death toll in Gaza.