NORTH JERSEY — U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer returned from Qatar and Egypt after leading an official House Select Committee on Intelligence trip. 

While there, Gottheimer met the American ​​Embassy teams and lead negotiators from Qatar and Egypt who have been working day and night to help resolve the Israel-Hamas conflict. During his meetings, Gottheimer stressed how critical it is to bring the hostages home, get more humanitarian aid into Gaza, and to crush Hamas, the terrorist organization that murdered, raped, burned alive, and tortured more than 1,200 innocent men, women, children, and elderly on October 7 — including 40 Americans.

Gottheimer participated in discussions with senior level officials regarding:

• The ongoing efforts to bring every single hostage home safely and quickly.
• How critical it is to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza and to crush Hamas.
• The status of the negotiations, and what it will take to get to a temporary pause and ultimate end to the conflict.
• How the Qataris are particularly positioned, and have a deep responsibility, to get Hamas to free more hostages like Edan Alexander.
• The need to not let negotiations stall for another 180 days. 
• Ways to get more humanitarian aid faster into Gaza.
• The need to crush Hamas and the destabilizing threat that Hamas poses.
• What the future of Israel and the region might look like after October 7.
• How we can combat the threat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, so that Israelis can return home in the North.
• The Houthis, who have targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea, which directly impacts the entire world.

“In Egypt and Qatar, I spent time with the lead negotiators who have been working day and night to bring hostages home. While there, I stressed over and over just how critical it is to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza and to crush Hamas, the terrorist organization that murdered, raped, burned alive, and tortured more than 1,200 innocent men, women, children, and elderly on October 7 – including 40 Americans.” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), a Member of the House Intelligence Committee. “As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, this trip was vital to understanding the situation on the ground and reaffirming the United States’ key objectives for the region. We can and must do more, every day, until this war comes to a close.”  

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