On Wednesday, in a floor speech on the House floor, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) called for urgent de-escalation in the Middle East and renewed her calls for a ceasefire in Gaza to prevent a broader regional war. The Congresswoman’s remarks come at a time of rising tensions in the Middle East, following the Iranian military’s attack on Israel as well as the Israeli military’s attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria.
Since the horrific October 7th attack, Congresswoman Pressley has consistently and stridently called for a ceasefire to save lives, return all hostages, and surge humanitarian aid to Gaza. To date, nearly 34,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes and over 100 hostages are still held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
A transcript of the Congresswoman’s remarks is available below and the full video is available here.
Transcript: In Floor Speech, Pressley Urges De-Escalation in Middle East, Renews Call for Ceasefire
U.S. House of Representatives
April 17, 2024
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the massacre of the Palestinian people and the urgent need to de-escalate the Middle East.
For months now, after the brutal attack on October 7th, the world has watched in horror as the crisis in Gaza has worsened daily.
Today, less than two hundred days later, nearly 34,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces.
Every day that goes by without a ceasefire is another day that Palestinians are subjected to violence, starvation, death, and destruction.
And every day that we do not de-escalate the region, more lives are put at risk.
Mr. Speaker, I condemn the Iranian military’s attack on Israel and I condemn the Israeli military’s attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria.
These escalations are dangerous. And we now find ourselves at a critical inflection point.
We can either leverage diplomacy to de-escalate tensions and push for peace, or we can stand idly by as this spirals into a broader regional conflict that will result in more loss of life – Palestinian, Israeli, and American.
We must de-escalate. And facilitating a lasting ceasefire in the region is the only path forward.
Some of my colleagues seem all too willing to rush into an endless war with Iran and continue providing a blank check to the Israeli military.
Right now, Palestinians in Gaza are being starved, bombed, tortured and executed.
Generations of Palestinian families have been wiped out. Over 2 million are displaced from homes that have been razed to the ground.
Make no mistake: history will remember this moment as a genocide.
We cannot bomb our way to peace, and the U.S. must stop using our tax dollars to arm the Israeli military with more bombs and bullets. The same bombs and bullets that have been used to kill over 14,000 children in Gaza.
Shameful.
It’s why we see momentum across the globe in support of a ceasefire.
Millions are marching peacefully in the streets.
A ceasefire is the mandate.
A ceasefire to surge humanitarian aid.
A ceasefire to bring all the hostages home.
A ceasefire to save lives.
We will never be silent in the face of injustice.
Ceasefire now.
