Peter Welch: “in recent weeks, the attention of the American people has been on the rapidly evolving campaign for the Presidency…”

“in recent weeks, the attention of the American people has been on the rapidly evolving campaign for the Presidency issues. But while our national media and the focus have shifted, it is important that we do not lose sight of the crisis in Gaza, where innocent people have suffered one calamity after another. Also in recent weeks, thousands of defenseless, homeless people sheltering in schools, including one located in an area reportedly designated by the Israeli military as a humanitarian safe zone, have been targeted by the Israeli military with missiles supplied by the United States. Regrettably, scores have been killed, and hundreds have been wounded. What little is left of Gaza's demolished hospitals have no capacity to properly treat injuries. Children are particularly vulnerable in this conflict. Thousands of children have been killed. Thousands have sustained severe injuries that require surgery or advanced medical care, and many suffer from other life-threatening illnesses, like cancer, that are going completely untreated. In the past 9 months, only 19 of these children have been allowed to leave Gaza, and that is shocking. Today, my colleagues and I sent a letter to the Ambassadors of Israel and Egypt calling on them to work together, with the full cooperation of the United States, so that these children can leave Gaza and get the medical care they desperately need, and I urge their governments to do that.…”