[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 202 (Thursday, December 7, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5842-S5843]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 ISRAEL

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it is pretty well-known by Members of 
Congress--but it bears repeating--that on October 7, an atrocity 
occurred. The innocent people living in Israel were attacked by Hamas 
terrorists. What happened during the course of that attack is not a 
subject of just speculation; it is a fact.
  Those of us who serve in the Senate had an opportunity 2 weeks ago, 
at the invitation of Senator Rosen, to see the actual videotapes of the 
horrible scenes that occurred when Hamas terrorists attacked innocent 
people in Israel, and 1,200 individuals were harmed. They were the 
victims of systemic rape, violence, murder, mayhem. Every single list 
of war crimes was checked off that day when the Hamas terrorists 
attacked. For those of us who are committed to the survival and future 
of Israel, it was a horrible occurrence. More Jews died on October 7 of 
this year than at any time since the Holocaust during World War II--a 
terrible tragedy.
  Does Israel have the right to exist? The answer is, clearly, yes. 
Does Israel have the right to defend itself? The answer is yes. Should 
Israel make sure that they are safe in light of all of the Hamas 
terrorists in Gaza? Certainly.
  Having said that, there is another part to this story. The reaction 
of

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Israel to what happened on October 7 has been measured by many 
different people in many different ways.
  This is what we know: There are 80 percent of the people who live in 
Gaza who have been displaced and moved to locations that are supposedly 
safe, which sometimes are and sometimes are not; 60 percent of the 
dwelling places in Gaza have been destroyed so that families can no 
longer live in the areas they once lived in.
  The third point I want to make is, the number of people who have died 
as a result of this conflagration between Hamas terrorists and 
Israelis--which is now in the range of 13,000 to 17,000 people--70 
percent of those who have died--innocent people who have died--have 
been women and children. It is the largest loss of life of children in 
a wartime setting in modern times, and it gets worse every single day. 
We see the pictures. We see the videos. We see the news reports. It is 
a humanitarian crisis of epic proportion.
  Once President Biden made it clear that, on behalf of the United 
States, we stand behind Israel, he has spent every moment since urging 
the Israelis to show caution in their activities and military campaigns 
because too many innocent people are being victimized.
  Yesterday, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Guterres, 
said that we have to return to a situation where there is at least an 
opportunity for peace and to stop the fighting. A ceasefire, he called 
for. Some have criticized him for it. I applaud him. I think it is the 
only thing that we can do to stop the wanton killing of innocent people 
in Gaza.
  There are solutions to the problem in that area that are not military 
entirely, only partially. Primarily, they are political. There has to 
be an understanding between the Palestinian people and those living in 
Israel that there is an opportunity for peace, and they have to trust 
one another to enact that. You can't do that with the end of the barrel 
of a gun.
  I believe this idea of having an end to hostilities so that we can 
complete the exchange of hostages is critical. The longer we wait, the 
less likely these hostages can survive. They are calling on the Israeli 
Government and I am joining them in saying that we need another period 
of peace to try to negotiate more releases before these hostages die--
and the military operations that are taking place.
  So I urge the leaders in our government and those involved to think 
of the innocent people who are dying--the children, the women, elderly 
folks--as a result of this campaign and to find a peaceful solution, 
which starts, as far as I am concerned, with the decision not to move 
forward with the military operations.

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