Marjorie Taylor Greene calls crisis in Gaza ‘genocide,’ first Republican lawmaker to do so
WASHINGTON − Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, said there is a “genocide” happening in Gaza, becoming the first Republican lawmaker to use the term to describe the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
“It’s the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct 7th in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza,” Greene wrote on X.
More: Two Israeli rights groups say Israel is committing genocide in Gaza
Hers is an uncommon statement in a caucus that has rallied around Israel since October 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Israel has strongly rejected claims that the country is perpetuating a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Recently the Israeli military announced it would pause action in certain parts of Gaza for hours each day and increase aid drops in the enclave. Reports of mass starvation have spread since Israel first cut off supplies to the region in March, then reopened aid lines, with new restrictions, in May.
More than 125 people have died due to malnutrition, including 85 children, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said over the weekend. A 5-month-old baby, Zainab Abu Haleeb, died of malnutrition at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza on July 26.
In recent weeks, more than 800 people have been killed while trying to reach food, according to the United Nations, mostly in shootings by Israeli soldiers posted near controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution centers.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene asks questions during Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s congressional hearing on July 22, 2024.
“I can unequivocally say that what happened to innocent people in Israel on Oct 7th was horrific,” Greene wrote in an earlier social media post over the weekend. “Just as I can unequivocally say that what has been happening to innocent people and children in Gaza is horrific.”
“This war and humanitarian crisis must end!”
Her post on July 28 calling Israel’s attack on Gaza a genocide was part of a direct criticism of her Republican colleague Rep. Randy Fine, who was elected in April to fill the seat vacated by former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.
Fine, a Jewish member of Congress and staunch defender of Israel, has been outspoken on social media, denying the crisis in Gaza in multiple posts and writing in another, “starve away.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marjorie Taylor Greene says there is genocide in Gaza, amid starvation