In a letter to the president, the lawmakers sharply criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's strategic choices in Gaza, where close to 20,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed during the fighting since Oct. 7, according to Palestinian health officials.
United Nations officials have warned of an "urgent humanitarian crisis" in the enclave as aid workers say residents displaced by the fighting are facing shortages of food and water and lack sanitation in overcrowded living spaces, increasing the likelihood of diseases and outbreaks.
Declaring they are "deeply concerned" with Netanyahu's war strategy, the Democrats told Biden the "mounting civilian death toll and humanitarian crisis are unacceptable and not in line with American interests; nor do they advance the cause of security for our ally, Israel."
Rather than serving to defeat Hamas, the group said Netanyahu's strategy instead "jeopardizes efforts to destroy the terrorist organization Hamas and secure the release of all hostages."
Lawmakers signing the letter include four U.S. Armed Services veterans -- Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania.
The signatories also include a pair of former CIA officials, Reps. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.
"We have dedicated our lives to national security and believe our nation's values are a source of credibility and power," they told the president. "Some of us also spent years fighting America's war on terror. We know from personal and often painful experience, that you can't destroy a terror ideology with military force alone. And it can, in fact, make it worse."
"Accordingly, we urge you to continue to use all our leverage to achieve an immediate and significant shift of military strategy and tactics in Gaza," the group said, adding that they have seen no signs of a shift in Israel's strategy from their vantage points on the various House committees overseeing intelligence, armed services and foreign affairs.
Their letter came as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called on Israel to make stronger efforts to protect Palestinian civilians during a visit to Tel Aviv on Monday, adding his voice to similar views expressed by U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan last week.
Pentagon chief in Israel visit warns Hezbollah of 'wider conflict'
Tel Aviv (AFP) Dec 18, 2023 -
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin on Monday urged Iran-backed movement Hezbollah to avoid provoking a "wider conflict" amid near-daily skirmishes along the Israel-Lebanon border since Israel's war with Hamas.
The frontier has seen escalating cross-border fire, mainly between the Israeli army and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which says it is acting in support of Hamas.
"We call upon Hezbollah to make sure that they don't do things that would provoke a wider conflict," Austin said at a joint press conference with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
"We've been clear that we don't want to see this conflict widen into a larger war or a regional war," Austin said.
Asked if Israel was planning for a ground operation in the north, Gallant said "diplomacy is the preferred way" but stressed "we are preparing ourselves (for) any situation that is needed."
Since the Israel-Hamas war began in early October, more than 130 people have been killed in hostilities on the Lebanese side of the frontier, according to an AFP tally, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also including a Lebanese soldier and 17 civilians, three of them journalists.
On the Israeli side of the border, five civilians and seven soldiers have been killed, authorities have said.
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