2 members of US Congress push Biden to work for 'immediate ceasefire' in wake of Gaza hospital bombing

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Two Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday pushed US President Joe Biden to work for an "immediate ceasefire" after an Israeli airstrike in the besieged Gaza Strip struck a hospital, killing hundreds, with one accusing Biden of having a "war and destruction only approach.”

"Israel just bombed the (Al-Ahli) Baptist Hospital killing 500 Palestinians (doctors, children, patients) just like that," Representative Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian American female lawmaker in Congress, wrote on X.

Tagging President Biden's X account, she said: "This is what happens when you refuse to facilitate a ceasefire & help de-escalate.”

"Your war and destruction only approach has opened my eyes and many Palestinian Americans and Muslims Americans like me. We will remember where you stood," she added.

Ilhan Omar, a member of Congress for Minnesota, said bombing a hospital is "among the gravest of war crimes.”

"The IDF (Israeli army) reportedly blowing up one of the few places the injured and wounded can seek medical treatment and shelter during a war is horrific," she said, calling on Biden to "push for an immediate ceasefire to end this slaughter."

Over 500 people were killed in the Israeli airstrike on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night, Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told Anadolu.

Footage showed corpses scattered across the hospital grounds.

The airstrike came on day 11 in the current conflict, with a growing international chorus of non-governmental groups and world leaders saying the Israeli bombing campaign on the besieged Gaza Strip – including healthcare facilities, homes, and houses of worship – violates international law and may constitute a war crime.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced earlier that Biden is due to pay a visit to Israel on Wednesday, a visit that now will take place in the wake of one of the most shocking bombings in recent memory.