WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) today led more than 30 of his colleagues in expressing concerns regarding reports that the Biden administration is applying pressure on Israel to prematurely end its combat operations in Gaza. In a letter to President Biden, Gallagher and his colleagues outlined how such a move would only give Hamas a lifeline, embolden Iran, and undermine our deterrent posture in the region.
In part, the members wrote, “We strongly urge you to focus on leveraging every available diplomatic, economic, and military tool to support Israel’s victory against Iran’s terror infrastructure – on whatever timeline Israel’s military commanders determine necessary to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza and achieve their national security objectives. The stated American interest has been and must remain the total defeat and surrender of Hamas.”
The letter was signed by Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Steve Womack (R-AR), Jen Kiggans (R-VA), Jack Bergman (R-MI), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Randy K. Weber, Sr. (R-TX), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Michael Guest (R-MS), Charles J. “Chuck” Fleischmann (R-TN), Rich McCormick (R-GA), Ben Cline (R-VA), Don Bacon (R-NE), C. Scott Franklin (R-FL), Nick LaLota (R-NY), Nicholas A. Langworthy (R-NY), Ronny L. Jackson (R-TX), Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), Mike Carey (R-OH), Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), William R. Timmons, IV (R-SC), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Keith Self (R-TX), Michael V. Lawler (R-NY), Brad Finstad (R-MN), Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA), and Chuck Edwards (R-NC).
Read the full letter HERE or see the text below:
Dear President Biden:
We are writing with concern over reports that your administration is applying pressure on Israel to prematurely end major combat operations in Gaza, leaving Hamas intact and capable of continuing attacks against Israel. We strongly oppose pressuring Israel into arbitrary political timetables (influenced by our own political cycle in America or the political demands of international actors that must not dictate outcomes) for military action against Iran’s terror proxies. Military operations should be guided by the threats Israel faces and the time the Israeli Defense Forces need to eliminate those threats and dismantle Gaza’s terrorist infrastructure.
Moreover, the United States should not be influenced by an information war carried out by Hamas, a designated foreign terrorist organization that uses human shields, or its ally and sponsor, Iran. Hamas and its sponsors and partners are responsible for the death of thousands of civilians—Israeli and Palestinian—including over 30 Americans. They have no regard for human life. More than one thousand Hamas terrorists descended on Gaza on October 7 to carry out the most brutal attacks on babies, children, women, and men, ripping them from their homes, and brazenly murdering, raping, burning, and beheading them. They openly and proudly boasted about their brutality. They pose a danger to Israel precisely because they have no regard for human life.
Hamas can end this war quickly by surrendering, but its leaders have made their goal abundantly clear: carrying out more massacres like October 7 until they wipe Israel off the map. This will never happen. But the group will continue to try and innocent lives will be lost. You cannot throw Hamas and others responsible for the October 7th slaughter a lifeline by falling for their propaganda and allowing it to influence your support to Israel—especially as the closer Hamas is to its destruction, the louder its information warfare will become.
Iranian escalation in other parts of the Middle East is also no excuse to pressure Israel into providing concessions to Hamas, Iran, and other terrorist organizations like the Islamic Jihad. In fact, dealing with that escalation—particularly Iranian-proxy attacks against our own forces—only underscores the importance of Israeli Defense Force’s operations against Hamas. Iran directs terrorism throughout the region – from Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon to the Houthis in Yemen, militias in Iraq and Syria to cells across the West Bank. We must support Israel as it drives Iranian-backed threats away from its borders – including the Hezbollah threat south of the Litani River (pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1701). We must ensure that the Shi’ite militias that have attacked our forces in Syria and Iraq more than 90 times since October 17 pay a price for their aggression. And we must confront and end Iran’s threat to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea instead of appeasing Tehran or pressuring Israel to end its military operations. We should not wait for a U.S. combat death to hold Iran accountable; sometimes effective deterrence requires pre-emptive action.
We strongly urge you to focus on leveraging every available diplomatic, economic, and military tool to support Israel’s victory against Iran’s terror infrastructure – on whatever timeline Israel’s military commanders determine necessary to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza and achieve their national security objectives. The stated American interest has been and must remain the total defeat and surrender of Hamas. This can be achieved by the continued provision of American weapons to the IDF, and putting pressure on Hamas’s patrons Iran, Qatar, Turkey, and others. It will not be accomplished by forcing our most valuable and capable Middle East ally to quit the war before their strategic aims have been achieved.
