By David Lawder and Katharine Jackson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A number of U.S. Democratic lawmakers renewed requires an Israeli-Hamas ceasefire on Sunday in response to the killing of six hostages in a tunnel beneath Gaza, whereas Republicans criticized President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for not giving stronger help to Israel.
Israel recovered the our bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in Gaza the place they had been apparently killed shortly earlier than its troops reached them, triggering Israeli protests on Sunday and deliberate strikes over the failure to save lots of them.
The army mentioned the our bodies of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who’s an Israeli-American citizen, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino have been returned to Israel.
U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Goldberg-Polin’s dad and mom, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, who appeared on the Democratic Nationwide Conference final month, to supply condolences, a White Home official mentioned.
U.S. Nationwide Safety Advisor Jake Sullivan held a digital assembly on Sunday with the households of the American hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
Sullivan mentioned the continued diplomatic push to drive in the direction of a deal that secures the discharge of the remaining hostages, the White Home mentioned.
Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Durbin mentioned in a publish on X that he was “heartbroken and devastated” by the information of Goldberg-Polin’s loss of life, echoing sentiments of different U.S. officers and lawmakers.
“A ceasefire must be reached immediately that allows all remaining hostages to be released, humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, and an elusive and neglected long-term vision for peace and stability to become a reality,” mentioned Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat.
Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui is one other hostage with American citizenship, mentioned the federal government of Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to have interaction in negotiations with Hamas to carry hostages house and time was operating out.
He mentioned the “entire senior military establishment and intelligence community has been saying publicly and openly for weeks and months that the time has come to end the fighting in Gaza, get our hostages home, as many alive as possible,” Dekel-Chen informed the CBS “Face the Nation” program.”
BLAMING BIDEN
Republican lawmakers on Sunday did not urge a stronger push for ceasefire negotiations, with some blaming the Biden-Harris administration for not supporting Israel strongly enough.
“They proceed to encourage and embolden Hamas,” with calls for a ceasefire, said Republican Senator Tom Cotton.
Asked what Netanyahu’s government should do in the face of growing protests in Israel, Cotton said: “I’d urge him to complete the job towards Hamas, which is strictly what Kamala Harris and Joe Biden ought to have completed from the very starting.”
In a statement released by the White House just before midnight on Saturday, Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, did not call for a ceasefire and condemned Hamas for the deaths.
“Hamas is an evil terrorist group. With these murders, Hamas has much more American blood on its arms. I strongly condemn Hamas’ continued brutality, and so should the whole world,” Harris mentioned.
Harris later posted on X that she and her husband Doug Emhoff spoke to Goldberg-Polin’s dad and mom “to express our condolences following the brutal murder of their son by Hamas terrorists.”
Republican senator Lindsey Graham known as for extra stress on Iran, Hamas’ foremost sponsor, telling ABC’s “This Week” that the Biden administration and Israel “should hold Iran accountable for the fate of remaining hostages and put on the target list oil refineries in Iran if the hostages are not released.”
