As the war between Israel and the militant group Hamas continues into its second month, Congressman Seth Moulton, who represents Massachusetts’ 6th District, released a statement urging Israel to prioritize civilian evacuation and humanitarian aid in Gaza.
The statement was published only days before Israeli airstrikes hit a refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip early Sunday, killing dozens of people, according to The Associated Press. In a statement sent to The Weekly News, Moulton, who served four tours in the Iraq War, urged Israel to learn from America’s “successes and failures in its own War on Terror strategies.”
“One of the best tactical and moral decisions our forces made was to urge civilians to evacuate cities like Najaf and Fallujah, giving them time to leave before clearing the area of terrorists. An estimated 90% of civilians left Fallujah before U.S. forces entered the city, limiting civilian casualties to a fraction of the number killed in Gaza already. Just as importantly, that strategy weakened the insurgency as some supporters gave up instead of fighting. U.S. Marines eliminated the rest,” Moulton said.
Moulton called on the Israeli military to adopt a similar strategy. He said that instead of a “humanitarian pause,” which suggests temporary relief before a return to the status quo, the Israeli military should consider a civilian evacuation, allowing for hostage negotiations and providing safe corridors for Palestinian civilians fleeing Gaza.
“Humanitarian aid must be a continuous and integral part of Israel’s military operation. This is another key lesson from Iraq and Afghanistan. By doing so, the IDF will demonstrate both to Palestinians and the rest of the world that it is living up to its commitment to protect Palestinian life. It will also starve Hamas of fighters and support,” Moulton said, using the acronym of the Israeli military’s official name, the Israel Defense Forces.
The congressman added that a humanitarian approach would not only protect innocent Palestinians but would serve as an “important tactical change” for the Israeli military. Moulton added that he suspected Israel could win international support in its war against Hamas by ensuring Palestinians that they will be safe where aid is located.
“Israel must provide a dramatic alternative to remaining in northern Gaza, and they achieve that not with a minimum of aid but with a massive surge of aid to the south, enough to get civilians to leave despite Hamas’ evil efforts to make them stay,” Moulton said.
Moulton stated that safely removing hostages from Gaza through diplomatic negotiations remains a top priority for Israel and its allies. He said that while Israel maintains its “unequivocal right and responsibility” to defend itself against terrorism, he is “deeply concerned” by reports of massive civilian casualties in Gaza.
The Associated Press reported that the Palestinian death toll, as of Saturday, has reached 9,448 since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 people.
“Of course, if Hamas actually cared about the Palestinian people, the group would surrender before Israel has to go in and eliminate it. But since that is unlikely to happen, it’s important for Israel to keep in mind another fundamental lesson we learned in Iraq and Afghanistan: that you can never create more terrorists than you kill,” Moulton said. “Civilian casualties ultimately help Hamas’ recruiting. It is, therefore, both a moral and military imperative for Israel to reduce innocent suffering as it executes its operations moving forward.”
