Jewish House Democrats blast Israel after aid worker deaths: ‘Squandering its moral standing’ – Washington Examiner

Several Jewish House Democrats bashed Israel after a drone strike killed seven international aid workers.

Seven World Central Kitchen aid workers were killed on Monday after an Israeli airstrike hit their convoy, despite coordinating their movements with the Israel Defense Forces. The attack, which killed an Australian, Polish, British, Palestinian, and dual U.S.-Canadian citizen, was widely denounced by the international community. The outrage spread among Democrats in Congress, some of whom are Jewish, and who have previously been fervent supporters of Israel.

Palestinians inspect a vehicle with the logo of the World Central Kitchen wrecked by an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. A series of airstrikes killed seven aid workers from the international charity, leading it to suspend delivery Tuesday of vital food aid to Gaza. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)

“The Netanyahu government is forfeiting and squandering every day its moral standing and the support of the world which existed after the October 7 atrocities perpetrated by Hamas,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said in a statement obtained by Axios.

“The death and destruction should have stopped months ago,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), another Jewish member, said.

The airstrike was “an abhorrent act of indiscriminate bombing,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) said. “It is indefensible and a further dark chapter for the Netanyahu government.”

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), who was visiting Israel when Hamas attacked the state, said the news of the aid workers’ deaths is “heartbreaking and unacceptable.”

“Humanitarian workers delivering critical aid to civilians must never be targeted, by mistake or otherwise,” he posted on X. “The IDF must conduct a thorough investigation & give answers. This cannot happen.”

Other Democrats used the occasion to condemn the war more broadly.

It is “time for Israel to cease this indiscriminate bombing campaign with no endgame in site and allow for humanitarian aid to prevent needless suffering,” Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) said.

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Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Steve Cohen (D-TN) took a more cautious approach, with Schneider searching for an explanation as to what led to the strike.

The aid workers killed Monday were seven of nearly 200 aid workers who have died in the conflict. Total casualty figures are controversial, but the number of deaths in Gaza is believed to be in the tens of thousands. Around 1,200 Israelis were killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that ignited the war.