John,

One week ago, Israel and Hamas reached a long-awaited ceasefire agreement.

Since then, the last 20 living Israeli hostages have all returned home, while about 1,700 Palestinians held in Israeli captivity without any legal charges or outside communication were released. Many of the Palestinian hostages returned with amputated limbs and clear signs of torture and mistreatment.

While this is a necessary reprieve to the endless violence this genocide has inflicted, this agreement could and should have happened much sooner. This deal was on the table since 2023 — had President Biden pressured Benjamin Netanyahu to accept it during his administration, it would have saved an untold number of lives from bombardment, shootings, and starvation.

So far, the ceasefire is incredibly fragile and has already been violated by the Israeli government repeatedly in the last few days, including by killing at least nine Palestinians, reducing the agreed-upon amount of aid allowed into Gaza by half (from 600 to 300 trucks per day), and blocking fuel and gas shipments.

The Israeli government must start allowing the free flow of food, medical supplies, and other aid into Gaza to prevent further starvation, and we must demand that Palestinians are in the driver's seat for their own self-determination — not Tony Blair, Donald Trump, or Benjamin Netanyahu.

Not only that, but we cannot let Netanyahu’s far-right government revert back to its genocide and ethnic cleansing of Gaza — and the struggle for Palestinian freedom must continue until we demand an end to Israeli apartheid, occupation, and ethnic cleansing. That starts with ending all U.S. funding to the Israeli government.

As Justice Democrats’ Rep. Summer Lee said, “We owe it to every Palestinian killed, every home and hospital destroyed, to demand accountability for the war crimes committed, and we must keep pushing for an end to the occupation.”

A ceasefire was the first step. Now, we need to keep up the pressure for an end to the Israeli occupation and for a truly free Palestine: add your name now →

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Let’s make it clear that our eyes are still on Gaza and we are committed to the ongoing fight for peace and justice for ALL.

In solidarity,

Justice Democrats