U.S. Rep Rashida Tlaib Calls On Biden To Save Civilian Lives In Gaza

DETROIT — Detroit area Representative Rashida Tlaib urged the Biden administration to do more to save civilian lives in Gaza ahead of an expected Israeli ground invasion.

Tlaib, who is Palestinian American, called for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in the region, where Israel warned Palestinians to evacuate as it scales up its response to last week's surprise and deadly attack by Hamas.

"Millions of people in Gaza–half of them children–have been given an impossible 24-hour evacuation order, but they have nowhere to go," Tlaib said. "They have been cut off from electricity, food, and water for days. Hospitals are running out of electricity to keep babies and the injured alive. The collective punishment of Palestinian civilians is a war crime, the confirmed use of white phosphorus bombs in Gaza is a war crime, yet there are no statements demanding these violations stop from the American political establishment."

Tlaib also said that many people in the U.S. with family members in Gaza believe the Biden administration is not doing enough to protect civilian and American lives in Gaza. She also criticized President Biden on Friday for failing to empathize with Palestinians amid the war in Gaza.

"President Biden has not expressed one bit of empathy for the millions of Palestinian civilians facing brutal airstrikes and the threat of a ground invasion of Gaza that would intensify this humanitarian crisis," Tlaib said. "I cannot believe I have to beg our country to value every human life, no matter their faith or ethnicity. We cannot lose sight of the humanity in each other."

Violence erupted in the region after surprise attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7 killed more than 1,300 Israelis, most of whom were civilians, officials said.

Israel retaliated by launching rockets into Gaza and cutting off water and electricity to the region, officials said.

The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,750 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 wounded since the fighting erupted.

Biden described Hamas' attack on Israel as an act of sheer evil and described the group as anti-Semitic that doesn't stand for doesn't stand for Palestinian rights.

"We're making sure Israel has what it needs to defend itself and respond to these attacks," Biden said Friday morning. "It's also a priority for me to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza."