NORTH JERSEY — Today, Tuesday, April 23, 2024, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) issued the following statement on the 200-day mark since Hamas terrorists brutally attacked Israel on October 7.

“Last night, Jewish families across North Jersey and around the world gathered around their seder tables and retold the story of the Jewish peoples’ exodus from Egypt. However, for the thousands of families who had a loved one murdered or taken hostage on October 7th, their tables had an empty seat. I think especially of the family of Edan Alexander, my constituent from Teaneck, New Jersey, who spent his twentieth birthday as a hostage.

As we mark 200 days since the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust, we are reminded that Jewish communities around the world and in Israel are still under threat. Iran and its terrorist proxies have threatened annihilation and destruction of the Jewish people and State. We cannot embolden Hamas and its mission to repeat October 7 ‘a second, a third, and a fourth time.’ We must continue to put pressure on our allies to help bring every single hostage home, including the Americans, crush the terrorists, and make sure we provide humanitarian assistance to the innocent civilians being used as human shields while Hamas terrorists hide underground. Hamas has continued to walk away from every deal presented to them. Our regional partners must pressure Hamas to accept a deal now.

Just last weekend, the House of Representatives passed a bill that will ensure Israel has the ability to defend herself in the wake of Iran’s unprecedented attack. It also provides much needed global humanitarian assistance to those who need it most.

134 individuals have spent 200 days as hostages held at the hands of Hamas terrorists. They should not have to spend Passover alone in Hamas’s tunnels. I won’t stop fighting until we bring every single hostage home.”  

###