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Floor Speech
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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, today we mark 2 years since the horrific attack in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Two years ago, Israel was the victim of one of the most vicious, vile, terrible crimes in recent memory--maybe in all of history. Thousands of Hamas terrorists poured across the border and slaughtered more than 1,200 Israelis and abducted dozens more.
So today we remember, as we must, all who lost their lives, and we remember the families who have lost their loved ones. And our hearts go out to them, as they did in those days immediately following that horror.
We cannot forget the 48 hostages still enduring unimaginable suffering at the hands of Hamas, and we pray for their return. The wound of October 7 is still healing. It may never heal, but it is also a call to action and remembrance.
In the days immediately following October 7, I traveled to Israel. I met with families of those hostages. I have spoken since then to members of the IDF and to Palestinians. The war has never been against Palestinians; it is against Hamas. And I have been so deeply moved by the strength and bravery of those hostage families as well as many others. I have family in Israel, so this war is personal, and in my visits to Israel, I have also visited other nations and met with leaders in the region.
And today, I have more hope than ever that there is a narrow path to bringing those hostages home, to providing more humanitarian aid, and meeting the crisis in Gaza--a humanitarian crisis--as well as a permanent cease-fire, an end to Hamas's threat to Israel.
Today, I stand in solidarity with Israel. I believe in Israel's right to self-defense against this kind of terror. We should commit ourselves to take advantage of this window of opportunity. I hope that the peace plan that is on the table will provide a path, as it should, to everyone who wants an end to the suffering and bloodshed and the humanitarian crisis that continues, a peace that guarantees the security of the Israeli people, an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the end of Hamas, so that all may live free of fear and oppression.
I hope that the memory of all who lost their lives on October 7 will be a blessing and that we will never forget them and honor them through action, honor them through the pursuit of peace and justice.
I am proud to have visited as well with members of communities in this country that have stood with Israel, and I am hopeful that the bipartisan unity consistently shown by this body over decades will be continued. It needs to be strengthened. It has frayed, but bipartisanship has always characterized support for Israel.
I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will treat this day not only with the solemnity and seriousness that it deserves but also with a renewed commitment to make this cause bipartisan, the pursuit of peace, support of Israel, an end to the humanitarian crisis, and a lasting, stable solution for the Middle East.
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