Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) claimed on Sunday that Israel was intentionally committing a “genocide” inside Gaza and that the Hamas terrorist organization could not end the war by releasing the hostages and surrendering to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
AOC’s comments on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday come despite efforts by Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, which is inspected to ensure that weapons are not being smuggled in to Hamas.
“This word is extremely serious. It’s one that’s taken with extraordinary gravity. And, to me, the threshold of intent is a high one, it is a serious one and is not one that is made lightly,” she said.
She later suggested that Israel was not targeting Hamas: “But what we are seeing here, I think, with a forced famine, is beyond our ability to deny or explain away. There is no targeting of Hamas in precipitating a mass famine of a million people, half of whom are children.”
When pressed by CNN host Jake Tapper about statements from Israeli officials that Hamas could end the tomorrow instantly by releasing the hostages and surrendering, AOC responded: “I do disagree, because, when we are talking about famine, the actions of Hamas should not be tied to whether a 3-year- old can eat.”
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“The actions of Hamas do not justify forcing thousands, hundreds of thousands of people to eat grass as their bodies consume themselves,” she continued. “We and the Israeli government has a right to go after Hamas, but we are talking about a population of millions of innocent Palestinians. We are talking about collective punishment, which is injustifiable (sic).”
WATCH:
WATCH: CNN’s Jake Tapper: "Israeli officials also argue this war could end tomorrow if Hamas freed the hostages and laid down the arms. Do you disagree?"
AOC: "I do disagree." pic.twitter.com/hZM4nD55gu
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 24, 2024