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House overwhelmingly passes resolution condemning Hamas Oct. 7 massacres
WASHINGTON (JTA) — In its first action under its new speaker, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly condemned the deadly invasion of Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7, which launched Israel’s current war against the terror group in Gaza.
“With the most cosponsors of any resolution ever, this measure sends a clear message across the globe: The U.S. stands with Israel,” Rep. Michael McCaul, the Texas Republican who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, said after the vote Wednesday, posting on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The resolution was approved 412-10, with another six members voting present, out of 435 congressional seats. A number of lawmakers were absent, and at least one seat remains empty pending a special election.
McCaul, working with his Democratic counterpart on the committee, New York’s Gregory Meeks, garnered 425 co-sponsors for the resolution, which declares that the House of Representatives “stands with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists” and “stands ready to assist Israel with emergency resupply and other security, diplomatic, and intelligence support.” Among the co-sponsors, unusually, were party leaders, including Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic minority leader.
Meeks and McCaul, with the backing of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, first pressed for the resolution on Oct. 10, three days after Hamas’s invasion. Within a day they had garnered 390 co-sponsors, including progressives who have been harshly critical of Israel. But they were frustrated by the inability of Republicans to elect a speaker after a cadre of far-right lawmakers ousted Kevin McCarthy, the California Republican who previously held the role. McCaul pledged to make the resolution the first thing the House passed under a new Speaker.
Mike Johnson, the Louisiana Republican who ended weeks of stalemate with his election as speaker just before the vote, said in his first remarks in the role that he was committed to Israel’s security.
“We have no better friend in the Middle East than the state of Israel,” he said. “Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state. the special relationship between the United States and Israel is unbreakable. Our commitment to Israel’s security is ironclad and Israel has a right to defend itself under the international rules of war against the brutal terror unleashed on its citizens by Hamas.”
Jeffries, who participated in the ceremonial passing of the gavel to Johnson, also expressed support for Israel in his remarks.
Johnson said he would work with President Joe Biden to pass emergency defense assistance for Israel. Biden has asked for $10.4 billion, which Republicans say they are amenable to; however, he has coupled it with a request for $60 billion in assistance for Ukraine as it continues to fend off Russia’s invasion, which is controversial among Republicans.
Five of the six co-sponsors who voted “present” were on the Democratic Party’s progressive left, which came under intense pressure from outside groups to refrain from backing a resolution that did not call for a ceasefire. They were Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Joaquin Castro of Texas, Nydia Velázquez of New York, Greg Casar of Texas, and Chuy Garcia of Illinois. The sixth lawmaker voting “present” was Ayanna Pressley, a Massachusetts Democrat who did not co-sponsor the resolution.
Voting against were Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a Republican, and nine Democrats: Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Jamaal Bowman of New York, Cori Bush of Missouri, Al Green of Texas, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, Andre Carson of Indiana and Delia Ramirez of Illinois. Most of the Democratic “no” votes were from the Squad, a group of progressive lawmakers.
Omar said in a statement that she could not support a resolution that only noted the victims of Hamas without also noting Palestinians killed in Israel’s subsequent airstrikes in Gaza. Like many of the others who voted no, she is also pushing for a ceasefire, which the Biden Administration opposes.
“I’m committed to peace and a prompt ceasefire,” she said. “While the resolution rightly acknowledges and mourns the lives taken by Hamas, I cannot support a resolution that fails to acknowledge and mourn the lives of Palestinians taken by the Israeli military.”
Hamas killed more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, in its raids, wounded thousands of others and abducted more than 200. Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health ministry says that Israeli strikes have so far killed more than 5,000 Palestinians, including many children. How many of the Palestinian dead are terrorists and how many are civilians cannot currently be assessed.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.