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Omar, Ocasio-Cortez Swipe at Biden Admin Over Israel Support, Demand Arms Embargo to Stop ‘Genocide’
US Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) participates in a news conference, outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, April 10, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Jim Bourg
US Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) continued to castigate Israel’s military operations against Hamas over the past week, calling for the Biden administration to change its approach to what they described as a so-called “genocide” in Gaza.
While speaking to progressive journalist Mehdi Hasan at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) last week, Omar, one of the most vocal anti-Israel lawmakers in Congress, suggested that the White House should force a ceasefire between the Jewish state and Hamas by blocking further arms shipments to the former.
“You said at a protest this week that saying you’re relentlessly working on a ceasefire is not really a thing,” said Hasan, an outspoken critic of Israel himself, in reference to the Biden administration’s efforts to achieve a truce in Gaza.
“Right, because we actually are like the ones who control these weapons,” said Omar, a member of the so-called “Squad” of anti-Israel, far-left lawmakers in the US House of Representatives.
Hasan noted that fellow “Squad” member Ocasio-Cortez praised the White House for “relentlessly” working on a ceasefire while addressing the audience on the mainstage at the 2024 DNC in Chicago. Hasan claimed that Ocasio-Cortez’s comments incited backlash from the so-called “anti-war movement.”
Omar argued that “no one should fall for” the “narrative” that US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, are doing everything within their power to secure a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group.
“It’s not a rhetoric that makes any sense, right? Because, if you are working tirelessly to end this war, you would start stopping sending them weapons,” Omar said. “And to me, the no more bombs sentiment makes more sense in the pursuit of a ceasefire than saying we are working everyday to guarantee a ceasefire.”
During last week’s DNC, Omar engaged in a sit-in protest with members of the Uncommitted Movement — an initiative which encourages Democratic voters not to support Harris until she adopts anti-Israel policies. The protest was held in response to the DNC for allegedly refusing to give a Palestinian American speaking time during the convention.
Amid blistering criticism from progressives over her defense of the Biden administration’s ceasefire negotiations, Ocasio-Cortez reiterated her unsubstantiated position that Israel has committed “genocide” in Gaza. Chatting with New York City Council Member Chi Osse at the DNC, she argued that though neither major political party “is good on Palestine,” the Republican Party would be unambiguously worse.
“Neither party’s official platform in my opinion is good on Palestine. I don’t think either party right now is doing justice to Palestinians,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “That doesn’t mean that they’re the same. I think that a Donald Trump presidency would be absolutely catastrophic. I mean, he’s coming out here saying finish the job of a genocide.”
Ocasio-Cortez continued, suggesting that the Biden administration has worsened the humanitarian situation in Gaza by “continuing to provide weapons to Israel that have been dropping on innocent Gazans.”
During the DNC, Ocasio-Cortez posed for a photo with the father of Itay Chen, an American hostage in Gaza. The photo sparked swift backlash among the anti-Israel political left and caused some observers to speculate that the progressive firebrand had moderated her position on Israel.
Since being elected to Congress in 2018, both Omar and Ocasio-Cortez have emerged as harsh critics of Israel. They have accused the Jewish state of committing “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza and erecting an “apartheid” government in the West Bank. The lawmakers have also expressed support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement (BDS), an initiative which seeks to turn the Jewish state into an international pariah as a first step to its eventual destruction.
Omar and Ocasio-Cortez were among the first members of Congress to call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, arguing that the Jewish state’s military operations “indiscriminately” killed Palestinian civilians.
The post Omar, Ocasio-Cortez Swipe at Biden Admin Over Israel Support, Demand Arms Embargo to Stop ‘Genocide’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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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.