October 18, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 18, 2023

Contact: Sasha Galbreath, Sasha.Galbreath@mail.house.gov 

Congressman David Trone Joins Lawmakers in Sending Letter Encouraging Egypt to Establish Safe Zones in Southern Gaza, Open Corridors to Citizens

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman David Trone (D-MD) co-signed a letter led by Representatives Blake Moore (R-UT), Dan Goldman (D-NY), Robert Aderholt (R-AL), and Brad Schneider (D-IL) to Egyptian Ambassador Motaz Zahran. The letter encourages Egypt to work with the U.S., Israel, and other allies to establish safe zones in southern Gaza with humanitarian corridors that will assist civilians impacted by Hamas’s appalling war. As Israel rightfully defends itself from terrorism, Egypt has an opportunity to play a leadership role that ensures the safety and security of civilians, namely women and children, seeking refuge from Hamas. The bipartisan letter is signed by 107 Members of Congress.

Egypt remains a major global player, a regional power, and a long-standing security partner of the United States. As Hamas continues to target innocent civilians, take hostages, and embed their command centers within civilian communities, Egypt’s unique ability to protect civilian life comes at a crucial time.

In part, the letter reads, “In order to protect noncombatants and civilians in Gaza from Hamas’s brutality, we call on the Egyptian government to urgently work with the United States, Israel, and relevant international stakeholders to take all measured and appropriate steps to support and facilitate safe zones in southern Gaza and enable a steady supply of humanitarian assistance to flow from Egypt towards those in the safe zones until the civilian population is able to return to the north of the Strip. We are optimistic that the international community will participate in providing financial assistance for this humanitarian situation, but Egypt’s robust participation is essential to the success and the safety and security of up to two million Gazans who are desperately in need of such support. Further, those states that have been long-standing intermediaries for Hamas, especially Qatar and Türkiye, should be called upon to help as well.”

Text of the full letter is below and can also be found here.

Dear Ambassador Zahran,

As members of the U.S. House of Representatives, we are writing to you to express our outright condemnation of the recent terrorist attacks in Israel by Hamas and its terrorist partners. Given these events, we strongly encourage the government of Egypt to engage constructively with the United States, Israel, and relevant international stakeholders to establish and maintain safe zones in southern Gaza, with humanitarian access corridors, for civilians seeking refuge from the fighting in the north of the Strip.

Israel has the well-established right and responsibility to respond to these vicious attacks. We unequivocally support Israel’s right to defend itself, take necessary measures in support of its national security, and rescue the nearly 200 hostages currently being held in Gaza. As in previous conflicts, we also note that Israel’s military operations inside Gaza are designed to avoid civilian casualties. Israel has repeatedly encouraged innocent Gazans to leave Hamas locations and targets in the northern part of the Strip and has established an intelligence driven process to target terrorist activity, limit civilian casualties, establish corridors for safe passage, and adhere to the laws of armed conflict. In contrast, Hamas shamefully disregards international humanitarian law and the rules of war by intentionally targeting civilians, taking hostages, using human shields, and embedding their fighters in civilian communities with utter disregard for their welfare. As the controlling authority in the Gaza Strip, Hamas locates its infrastructure and command centers within civilian homes, schools, and hospitals. Hamas routinely launches rockets and mortars from residential neighborhoods. Hamas and other organizations such as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have done everything in their power to maximize the danger and suffering of the civilians over which they have governing responsibility, publicly threatening residents and preventing them from evacuating combat areas. These heinous actions are intentional, irrefutable, and inexcusable. They are also clear violations of the laws of armed conflict.

We are also deeply concerned for the innocent civilian lives Hamas intentionally puts in harm’s way, and the rapidly growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza driven by Hamas’s brutality. Although Israel has repeatedly warned Gazans to leave Hamas locations and targets, Hamas is actively working to prevent the evacuation of innocent Palestinians in order to use them as human shields. In fact, Hamas has even taken active steps to prevent foreign nationals from evacuating through the Rafah Border Crossing, the only remaining way out of Gaza.

In order to protect noncombatants and civilians in Gaza from Hamas’s brutality, we call on the Egyptian government to urgently work with the United States, Israel, and relevant international stakeholders to 1) take all measured and appropriate steps to support and facilitate safe zones in southern Gaza and 2) enable a steady supply of humanitarian assistance to flow from Egypt towards those in the safe zones until the civilian population is able to return to the north of the Strip. We are optimistic that the international community will participate in providing financial assistance for this humanitarian situation, but Egypt’s robust participation is essential to the success and the safety and security of up to two million Gazans who are desperately in need of such support. Further, we call upon those states that have been long-standing intermediaries for Hamas, especially Qatar and Türkiye, to help as well.

Egypt is a major global player and a consistent security partner to the United States. We urge Egypt to recognize its humanitarian responsibility to protect innocent lives. Egypt’s partnership with the Israeli government since 1980 has played a valuable role in preserving peace and security in the region for decades. We call upon your government once again to maintain this commitment to partnership and quickly take action to support civilian effectively being held hostage by Hamas.

Congressman David Trone was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2018 to serve the 6th District of Maryland, which includes all or part of Montgomery, Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties. Trone serves on the Appropriations, Budget, and Joint Economic Committees in the 118th Congress. In Congress, Trone is fighting to make progress on issues that matter to Marylanders.

Follow Congressman Trone at @RepDavidTrone for updates on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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