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As you read this email, half a million people in Gaza are facing the immediate threat of death by starvation as a result of Israel's ongoing siege.1
The destruction of Gaza's health care infrastructure has led to outbreaks of preventable deadly diseases, including polio, Hepatitis A, and dysentery.2
Meanwhile, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) continue to obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid, and recently, the IDF sparked international outrage by blowing up a major drinking water reservoir in Rafah.3
Without an immediate ceasefire, the total number killed in Gaza could soon exceed 180,000, including deaths caused by violence, disease, starvation, and other war-related reasons.4
Demand Progress Action, along with over 40 organizations, has already mobilized more than 150,000 calls, emails, and petition signatures to policymakers, demanding an end to the bloodshed. Now, with so many Palestinians on the brink of starvation, we must turn up the pressure.
In the words of a senior U.N. humanitarian official who visited Gaza recently, "More than two million people in Gaza remain trapped in an endless nightmare of death and destruction on a staggering scale."5
Nearly 40,000 people have been killed, the majority women and children. Nearly 2 million people — 90 percent of the population — have been displaced.6 At least 10,000 are missing and presumed dead in the rubble.7
As Israel's main weapons provider and political patron, the U.S. has the leverage to force Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire.
But instead, Netanyahu was given a hero's welcome in Congress, even as he smeared anti-war Americans as pro-Hamas "idiots."8 And with the killing of Hamas' lead representative in ceasefire negotiations and war expanding to Lebanon, the Golan Heights, and the West Bank, the threat of an even wider war looms larger than ever.9
In the face of such unimaginable suffering, we must make our voices heard and demand that the U.S. use its leverage to push for an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
With gratitude,
The team at Demand Progress Action
Sources:
1. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, "Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip (31 July 2024)," July 31, 2024.
2. CBC, "Gaza's Health Ministry has declared a polio epidemic. What does it mean for the territory?," July 30, 2024.
3. Haaretz, "Israeli Army Commanders Gave Order to Blow Up Rafah Reservoir. IDF Suspects Breach of Int'l Law," July 29, 2024.
4. The Lancet, "Counting the dead in Gaza: difficult but essential," July 5, 2024.
5. United Nations, "'Endless nightmare' of death and destruction in Gaza, UN officials tell Security Council," July 26, 2024.
6. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, "Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip (31 July 2024)," July 31, 2024.
7. Reuters, "Gaza death toll: how many Palestinians has Israel's campaign killed," July 10, 2024.
8. The Intercept, "Netanyahu Insulted and Smeared the Pro-Palestine Protest Movement. Congress Clapped.," July 24, 2024.
9. Axios, "U.S. concerned Hamas leader's assassination could derail Gaza hostage-ceasefire talks," July 31, 2024.
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