My heart is heavy with grief.

It grieves for the 1,200 Israeli civilians who were heinously murdered by Hamas on October 7th.

It grieves for the 137 hostages still held by Hamas, and their families.

And it grieves for the over 15,000 Palestinian civilians killed by the Israeli military in the weeks since — nearly half of whom are children.

The devastating attacks by Hamas on October 7th and the subsequent murder of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli government has brought about a collective sense of grief and loss that has been felt around the world, transcending borders.

And the toll of tragedy on civilians has been heartbreaking to watch. Children are dying. Entire generations of Palestinian families erased entirely. Hospitals bombed. Electricity shut off. Food, fuel, and medicine dwindling. Clean drinking water, essentially non-existent.

It’s clear: our shared humanity is in danger.

Last week’s temporary pause in fighting was a welcome step toward saving lives and reuniting families — and it was a testament to the power of diplomacy.

In that pause, we saw hostages returned, humanitarian aid delivered, families reunited, and countless lives saved.

I was deeply disappointed to see this temporary truce end and the bombing in Gaza resume. With the violence continuing to escalate, I’ll keep pushing for all parties to come back to the negotiating table and work toward an immediate, permanent ceasefire to save lives, return all hostages, and finally end this horrific violence.

I am haunted by the words and the images of the Palestinian children in Gaza who convened their own press conference in English so that you would not misunderstand their desperate appeals to live. They said we want to live. We want peace.

There is no justification for the collective punishment of the Palestinian people, from their elders to their babies. Regardless of our religion or nation of birth, our freedoms and our destinies are tied, and we have a moral obligation to be our brothers and our sisters’ keeper — a collective, righteous mandate to save lives.

Our movement for a ceasefire is growing stronger by the day. Millions across the globe have echoed our calls for an end to the bloodshed — from the United Nations and the Pope, to the President of France and an increasing number of my colleagues in Congress.

Activists, faith leaders, healthcare workers, and labor unions in my district and beyond have raised their voices in the name of peace.

This is a movement that is pro-peace, pro-faith, and pro-humanity. We are all one human family, and a permanent ceasefire is the mandate. We must respond accordingly.

In solidarity,

Ayanna