Democratic U.S. Representatives from 12 states sent a letter to President Joe Biden Thursday calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and the immediate return of 134 hostages that have been held by Hamas militants since their Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The letter comes hours after Israeli strikes killed at least 48 people in southern and central Gaza, adding to more than 29,400 civilian casualties since the war began. It also comes amid pressure from within the president's own party to take a harder line against Israel as the death toll continues to rise.

What You Need To Know

  • Democratic U.S. Representatives from 12 states sent a letter to President Joe Biden Thursday calling for a mutual, temporary cease-fire in Gaza

  • It also comes amid pressure from within the president's own party to take a harder line against Israel as the death toll continues to rise

  • The representatives urged the president "to exhaust every effort" to enable the return of 134 hostages held by Hamas

  • Six of the hostages in Hamas captivity are American

  • The representatives pledged to work with the president and U.S. allies to promote enduring peace in the Middle East and a two-state solution after a temporary cease-fire agreement has been reached

“As negotiations between Israel and Hamas continue, we urge you to exhaust every effort to facilitate a mutual, temporary ceasefire agreement between them that provides for, among other things, the immediate return of all of the 134 hostages, including six Americans who have been languishing in captivity for months,” the Representatives said.

The letter was signed by Reps. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y.; Jamie Raskin, D-Md.; Becca Balint, D-Vt.; Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore.; Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.; Greg Landsman, D-Ohio Seth Magaziner, D-R.I.; Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.; Dean Phillips, D-Minn.; Kim Schrier, D-Wash.; Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.; Brad Sherman, D-Calif.; and Susan Wild, D-Penn.

“We cannot overstate the urgency of the hostages’ situation in Hamas’s captivity in Gaza, where they have been held for 139 days in dreadful conditions,” the letter said. “Recently, we learned that 32 of the 134 remaining hostages are dead. Every day that the remaining living hostages are left to suffer in the tunnels in Gaza without medical attention increases the chances that more will die. The hostages and their families simply cannot wait any longer.”

The heads of 13 United Nations agencies and five other aid groups issued a joint plea for a cease-fire Wednesday, saying Israel’s planned attack on Rafah in the coming weeks will bring mass casualties and cripple humanitarian operations that have already been weakened by more than four months of fighting.

“The situation for the civilian population in Gaza is dire and desperate,” the Representatives said in their letter. “At least 1.4 million displaced Palestinians in Gaza cannot wait any longer for access to additional humanitarian aid to alleviate widespread hunger, homelessness and the continuing spread of dangerous diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, bronchitis and pneumonia.”

The Representatives said they would work with the president and U.S. allies to promote enduring peace in the Middle East and a two-state solution after a temporary cease-fire agreement has been reached that returns all of the hostages to their families, stops the violence in Gaza and rocket fire on Israel from Gaza and enables a surge in humanitarian aid.