400+ Killed in Gaza:
Demand Congress Take Action
Jon Rainwater / Peace Action
(March 19, 2025) — I write to you today with a heavy heart and a sense of greatly renewed urgency. The fragile ceasefire in Gaza has been shattered, and Israel has resumed its indiscriminate bombing with devastating consequences.
As of this morning, at least 400 Palestinians have been killed and over 500 injured in a new wave of Israeli strikes. Tragically, many of the victims are women and children. [1]
I’m writing to you as we ramp up our efforts to block US arms to Israel in the face of this staggering violence. There are already bills in Congress to block arms to Israel. However many members of Congress pointed to the ceasefire as a reason not to support them. That excuse is now gone.
The Trump administration is currently pushing forward with a total of nearly $12 billion in arms sales to Israel since coming into office. On top of that, they’ve taken off the few restraints on arms transfers that the Biden administration had put in place. This includes opening the spigot on 2,000-pound bombs — the very weapons that have caused such extensive civilian casualties in Gaza — and armored bulldozers, which have been used to demolish Palestinian homes and infrastructure.
The bombings this week come after Israel imposed a total blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza, exacerbating the already dire humanitarian crisis.
Whether you choose to call it gross human rights violations, ethnic cleansing, or genocide, the consequences for the Palestinian people are catastrophic and will likely have long-lasting effects on generations to come.
These weapons are not just tools of war; they are instruments of mass destruction in densely populated areas. The 2,000-pound bombs, in particular, have a large blast radius that makes them inherently indiscriminate when used in urban settings. Their use in Gaza, one of the most densely populated areas on Earth, is nothing short of catastrophic.
We cannot stand idly by as our government supplies the means for this devastation. That’s why we’re calling on you, our dedicated members, to take action immediately.
In the Senate, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has introduced four Joint Resolutions of Disapproval aimed at stopping the sales. In the House, Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) have put forward similar resolutions.
Tell your representatives that supplying these weapons makes the US complicit in the deaths of innocent civilians. Remind them that under US law – specifically the Leahy Laws and the Arms Export Control Act – military aid cannot be provided to forces committing gross human rights violations.
The civilian toll in Gaza is not just a number – it’s families torn apart, communities destroyed, and a future generation traumatized. Each bomb we send, each bulldozer we supply, contributes to untold suffering. We must break this cycle of violence and stand up for human rights and international law.
I know that changing Congressional policy on Israel is an uphill battle. But both with the war in Yemen and the war in Gaza, we’ve seen how grassroots pressure on individual members of Congress to block arms transfers has the power to shift the political dynamics around US support and therefore impacts administration policy and the policy of the country being supported.
When constituents speak out, they force representatives—especially those in competitive districts or with progressive and diverse constituencies—to weigh the electoral risks of supporting policies that enable civilian harm.
This grassroots pressure can begin to fracture the longstanding bipartisan consensus on unconditional military aid to Israel, creating space for dissent and accountability. Even if legislation to block arms sales doesn’t pass immediately, it raises the political stakes for the White House, forcing them to publicly defend their policy and potentially rethink specific arms transfers or other policies to avoid backlash or legislative roadblocks.
Thanks for being with us in the long-haul campaign for peace.
Thank you for all you do,
