Palestinians Are Human Too

The document lists 34,344 Palestinians killed as a result of Israeli attacks.(Aljazeera)

A US congressman slammed his colleagues on Thursday (19/9) for remaining silent on Israel’s killing of Palestinians, including babies, in the Gaza Strip.

“We are experiencing one of the most documented crimes against humanity in our history. These are children who will not live to see their first birthday. We cannot take this for granted,” Rashida Tlaib said on the House floor.

The statement came after the Gaza Health Ministry released a 649-page document containing the names of every Palestinian killed in the Gaza Strip. The document lists 34,344 Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks, listing their names, ages, genders and ID numbers.

“My colleagues continue to remain silent. I wonder if it’s because these babies are Palestinian? They’re children, that’s all. They’re children. I can’t believe I have to constantly remind my colleagues that Palestinians are human beings too,” Tlaib said, as reported by Anadolu, Friday (20/9).

He said the first 14 pages of the document were the names of babies. “I hope my colleagues who were under 1 year old when they were killed will see it. Fourteen pages of names of babies killed by the Israeli government. This is not self-defense. This is genocide,” he added.

He also criticized many of his colleagues who continue to send bombs to Israel. “This is not hard work for a ceasefire. If the Biden-Harris administration wants a ceasefire, they must stop sending bombs and weapons. We must stop arming and funding genocide.”

Israel has continued its brutal assault on Gaza following a Hamas offensive on Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. Nearly 41,300 people, mostly women and children, have been killed and more than 95,500 injured, according to local health authorities.

Israel’s offensive has displaced nearly the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to shortages of food, clean water and medicine. Israel faces charges of genocide over its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice. (I-2)