Congresswoman Dean's Statement on Third Anniversary of October 7th Attack

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (PA-04), member of the House Foreign Affairs and Appropriations Committees, released the following statement on the third anniversary of the October 7th attack: “ Three years ago today, Hamas terrorists launched a brutal, barbaric — most inhumane — attack on the people of Israel. Homes, Kibbutzim, and families were burned. Families torn apart. Unspeakable crimes committed against women, children, and seniors. More than 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage, including American citizens. The cruelty and brutality of this attack demanded universal, international condemnation and American support for our ally and friend Israel. I have traveled to Israel several times since October 7th, to meet with grieving Israeli families and government leaders. I met twice with Prime Minister Netanyahu, urging him to pursue justice — a just war — not vengeance, to be a partner for peace. Today, thanks to the tireless advocacy from the families and to American leadership, all the living hostages have been reunited with their loved ones. The dead have been returned to be buried with dignity. Around the world, Jewish people just celebrated their first Rosh Hashanah without any hostages held in Hamas’ custody. But the scars of October 7 th run deep and are lasting. The families of those who were killed, and those who were taken, will carry that grief for the rest of their lives. We all will. Meanwhile, the region remains in turmoil. Millions of Gazans are still displaced and vulnerable, struggling to find the food, water, medicine, and shelter they need to survive. More than 70,000 innocent Palestinian civilians have been killed and thousands more wounded, so many of them children. and Israeli violations of the ceasefire are alarmingly common. In the West Bank, Israeli settlers continue to encroach on Palestinian land, using violence to injure, kill, and drive out Palestinian families, jeopardizing any chance at peace. We owe it to all those who died, on that day and in the devastating war since, to build a better future. My prayer, and my work as a member of Congress, remains focused on supporting these essential pillars of peace: disarming of Hamas, a durable ceasefire to enable the mass distribution of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza; a safe and secure future for Israel as a democratic home for the Jewish people; self-determination and dignity for the Palestinian people to rebuild their lives and create a democratic, sovereign state of their own; and a commitment by leaders around the world to these principles, that we might truly end the cycle of violence. In this work, I am guided by the Jewish teaching of “Tikkun Olam”— the call to repair the world — and by the Scripture which tells us: blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. Today, we remember the suffering of October 7 th . Tomorrow, we must continue the work, with mercy and moral clarity, each doing our part to make peace.” Rep. Madeleine Dean is a mother, grandmother, attorney, professor, former four-term member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and U.S. Representative for the Fourth District of Pennsylvania. ###