Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, an outspoken critic of Israel, has finally broken her silence on the unprecedented Hamas terrorist attack on Israel that has killed at least 600 Israelis and prompted Israel to officially declare war for the first time since 1973.
Tlaib’s office released a statement to the Detroit News on Sunday, more than 24 hours after Hamas launched thousands of rockets at southern Israel.
“I grieve the Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today, and every day,” the statement reads. “As long as our country provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue.”
Tlaib has routinely accused Israel of committing “ethnic cleansing” against Palestinians and argues that Israel is an “apartheid state.”
ISRAEL DECLARES WAR AFTER HAMAS SURPRISE ATTACK, LAUNCHES RETALIATORY AIRSTRIKES IN GAZA
“Speaker McCarthy wants to rewrite history but the apartheid state of Israel was born out of violence and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians,” Tlaib wrote on social media in May. “75 years later, the Nakba continues to this day.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., has previously been critical of Israel. Tlaib has yet to respond following the Hamas terror attacks on Israel as of early Sunday. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Tlaib’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., have also been heavily critical of Israel in the past. They called for a “ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas on Saturday.
Cars and a building are seen after a m a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Moti Milrod)
Israel’s security cabinet officially declared war Saturday night after Hamas terrorists launched a surprise barrage of thousands of rockets into southern Israel, according to the Times of Israel. It is Israel’s first declaration of war since the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
HEZBOLLAH WATCHES ON AS GAZA WAR SPARKS FEAR OF ADDITIONAL FRONT FOR ISRAEL TO DEFEND
The Hamas incursion killed at least 600 Israelis and wounded at least 2,000 more.
Israeli forces have launched retaliatory strikes against Hamas terrorists in Gaza, striking 426 targets and leveling residential buildings to the ground. Israeli military also traded fire with Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in the north, which has raised fears of a broader conflict.
Among the 313 killed in Gaza were 20 children, and close to 2,000 wounded, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
