Moulton Calls for Civilian Evacuation & Surge of Humanitarian Aid into Gaza
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Seth Moulton issued the following statement on the situation in Israel and Gaza amidst Secretary of State Blinken's visit to Israel today.
"From the outset of this conflict, I have urged Israel to learn from America’s successes and failures in the War on Terror. One of the best tactical and moral decisions our forces made was to urge civilians to evacuate cities like Najaf and Fallujah, giving them time to leave before clearing the area of terrorists. An estimated 90% of civilians left Fallujah before U.S. forces entered the city, limiting civilian casualties to a fraction of the number killed in Gaza already. Just as importantly, that strategy weakened the insurgency as some supporters gave up instead of fighting. U.S. Marines eliminated the rest.
The IDF should adopt a similar strategy.
Fundamentally, it’s not a so-called “humanitarian pause,” as many have urged, which suggests temporary relief before going back to status quo, but a civilian evacuation, both of the hostages (through negotiation) and innocent Palestinians (through a surge of aid). In addition to providing safe corridors and safe harbor for fleeing civilians, humanitarian aid must be a continuous and integral part of Israel’s military operation. This is another key lesson from Iraq and Afghanistan. By doing so, the IDF will demonstrate both to Palestinians and the rest of the world that it is living up to its commitment to protect Palestinian life. It will also starve Hamas of fighters and support.
This would be an important tactical change. Israel must provide a dramatic alternative to remaining in Northern Gaza, and they achieve that not with a minimum of aid but with a massive surge of aid to the South, enough to get civilians to leave despite Hamas’ evil efforts to make them stay. The IDF must also show Palestinians that they will be safe where the aid is located, and I suspect Israel can win some international partners in that effort.
To be clear: getting the hostages out remains a top priority. With hostages scattered in tunnels throughout Gaza, saving them will come through diplomatic negotiations, not military means—another reason for Israel to pursue this approach.
Israel has the unequivocal right and responsibility to defend itself against terrorism, but I am deeply concerned by the reports of massive civilian casualties in Gaza. Of course, if Hamas actually cared about the Palestinian people, the group would surrender before Israel has to go in and eliminate it. But since that is unlikely to happen, it’s important for Israel to keep in mind another fundamental lesson we learned in Iraq and Afghanistan: that you can never create more terrorists than you kill. Civilian casualties ultimately help Hamas’ recruiting.
It is therefore both a moral and military imperative for Israel to reduce innocent suffering as it executes its operations moving forward.”