Speaking on Behalf of the Lives Lost in Gaza

Floor Speech

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Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, and still I rise.

I rise proud to be an American, proud to have the opportunity to stand here in the Congress of the United States of America and address issues of importance to the world.

I am proud to say that as an American, I salute the flag. I say the Pledge of Allegiance. I sing the national anthem. I stand for the anthem, but, Mr. Speaker, as I always remind people, as a liberated Democrat, I remind them, the greatness of America will not be measured by whether the Al Green's of the world will stand and salute the flag or will stand and sing the national anthem.

The greatness of America will be measured by whether the Al Green's of the world will defend those who choose not to stand, who choose not to sing, who choose not to salute. I will defend their rights as Americans not to participate in many things that I participate in.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say that when I tell people I love my country, a good many would say to me, why would you love a country that segregated you? Why would you love a country that required you to sit in the back of the bus, the balcony of a movie? Why would you love a country that has treated you so badly and so poorly when you were a child?

I was the son of a segregated South. The laws that the Constitution recognized for me, my friends and neighbors denied access to those laws, if you will.

But I have found that the best opportunity to make a difference in the world and change these things resides here in the United States of America. I love the country because I love the ideals, the ideals, what it stands for in its Declaration of Independence, what it stands for in its Constitution. I know that the Constitution did not apply equally to all when initially written, but I also know that there have been changes and there is still much change to take place.

I love my country, but I still believe that there must be things that we can do and there are things we can do to make the country a better place for all.

Therefore, today, I rise, Mr. Speaker, to speak on behalf of the many persons who have lost their lives, who have suffered in Gaza. The United States funds, funds the country that has purchased the weaponry, much of it, that has been used to harm people in Gaza. We have our fingerprints on these weapons. We have our fingerprints on the destruction that is taking place in Gaza.

I rise to stand with the innocent Palestinian men, women, and children, especially children, as well as others who were in Gaza who have suffered.

I rise, Mr. Speaker, with a resolution that I will be filing, a resolution that will be commemorating the innocent civilian lives lost in Gaza.

I plan to read this resolution, but before I read it, I will remind people, those who would think that I only commemorate the lives of Palestinians and those who lost their lives in Gaza who happen to be Palestinian. No. I was right here on the Capitol grounds just outside this building--you walk out, you walk over, you don't really walk down to the place where we stood to present our belief that we should bring back the hostages.

I participated in this with the Honorable Frederica Wilson from Florida to bring back the hostages, to say to the world that we support bringing the hostages back. They should never have been taken. You don't take babies as hostages.

I stood there, and before that, I was out in front of the Capitol with the Speaker of the House and many Representatives from this House to indicate that a certain number of days had passed and people were still being held hostage. I have spoken on the floor of this House on behalf of Israel. I have voted for more than $50 billion in support to Israel. So don't in any way conclude that I am a person who has not supported Israel and the people of Israel.

But today, I have a resolution that deals with the innocent civilian lives lost in Gaza, and that would include, by the way, the seven people who were wounded, who were the World Central Kitchen workers. They were there to bring relief. It is a relief organization, but I say they were great humanitarians who lost their lives, and their lives have to be commemorated as well.

Please, hear now the resolution commemorating innocent civilian lives lost in Gaza:

``Whereas, this resolution may be cited as the `Original Resolution Commemorating Innocent Civilian Lives Lost in Gaza.' ''

By the way, it hasn't been filed. If someone wants to file a resolution similar to this before I file mine, please do so. I don't file it because I am trying to be first in time. I file it because there is a necessity to talk about the lives that have been lost in Gaza.

``Whereas, this resolution may be cited as the `Original Resolution Commemorating Innocent Civilian Lives Lost in Gaza.' ''

By the way, one of the reasons that I filed this resolution, Mr. Speaker, is because I believe we must do more than statisticize these lives that were lost. We must do more to humanize the suffering that is taking place in Gaza. Statisticizing does not give you the essence of the human beings that have lost their lives and been wounded.

I will say more about that as we progress.

``Whereas, on October 7, 2023, Hamas conducted a heinous attack on Israel, leading to Israel declaring war on Hamas.''

This is not in the resolution, but you need to hear this: War on Hamas, Mr. Speaker. Not war on Palestinians, war on Hamas. Even the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Netanyahu himself, has said that the Palestinians are victims. War on Hamas declared by Israel, not war on Palestinians.

Continuing with the resolution: ``Whereas, in 2020, the population of Gaza was over 2 million, with approximately half being children under the age of 18.''

Half, more than half being children under the age of 18. I repeat a lot of things for emphasis. This is one of those things.

``Whereas, because of the war, homes, schools, businesses, and hospitals within Gaza have been decimated.''

I will say more about that in a moment.

``Whereas, hundreds of thousands of innocent civilian men, women, and especially children in Gaza have suffered through the loss of mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters''--family members, families have lost their lives in Gaza; innocent people, I might add--``while starving and suffering the mental anguish associated with war.''

Can you imagine what it would be like for the persons who survive this war, what their lives will be like? Will there be counseling for them as we provide counseling for ourselves when we have suffered some sort of mental anguish? Or will they just have to suffer for the rest of their lives and never get the proper medical treatment that they richly deserve?

``Whereas, civilians in Gaza live in constant fear of the sudden loss of arms, legs, and life.''

I will say more about this in just a moment.

``Whereas, tens of thousands of innocent civilians, including thousands of children, have been brutally killed in a war beyond their control: Now, therefore, be it resolved that the House of Representatives commemorates the tens of thousands of innocent civilian lives lost in Gaza, too many of whom were children; the lives lost should be viewed as more than statistics''--so far what I have done is give you statistics, for the most part, ``more than mere statistics''-- ``an effort should be made to respect the humanity of the dead; the killing of innocents should be stopped with all possible haste; and the United States should do everything it can to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.''

I thank the President for causing the necessary aid to be brought back into Gaza. I don't know that enough has been brought back to date, but I do know that because of this President, the gates have been opened such that more aid can get into Gaza. I am grateful for that.

Now, let's go further into this because we have to humanize some of what I talked about. First, this poster that you see, my staff has written me a note that I have to remove. This poster that you see reads: Gaza's economy would not recover to its GDP levels of 2022 until 2092, seven decades from now--2092--if the economy were to grow at the pace it has in previous years. 2092 before Gaza can recover if its economy grows at the pace that it grew in previous years.

According to my staff, in 2022, Gaza's per capita income was $3,572, which is 4 percent of what ours was in the United States. Ours was $76,329. This simply says that to get back to a per capita income that was painful to suffer, it will take seven decades if it grows at the rate that it was growing in 2022.

Now, this is a depiction of the destruction. You have seen it on television. I am still dealing with statistics, by the way. I haven't really gotten to the heart of the message. If you can, stay with me.

This depicts the suffering visually in terms of property that has been destroyed. It says, ``Israel's destruction.'' I would have this read, ``the Government of Israel.'' The people of Israel I have no quarrel with. I do have a quarrel with the government. I have no quarrel with the people of Israel. I have had differences of opinion with my government and still love the people in the country. You can have people that you have no quarrel with, but you can have a difference with the government.

I would say the destruction of homes--and this is by virtue of the government's mandate--has created almost 23 million metric tons of rubble--23 million metric tons. My staff has given me some intelligence on what 23 million metric tons would be the equivalent of for reference. One metric ton is roughly equal to the weight of a small compact car. If we lined up 23 million compact cars end to end, you would be able to circle the globe--this would be the Earth--twice.

Now, I know that the fighting is not what it was. I understand that there is what we would call a cessation in fighting to some extent taking place at this time, but there is a possibility that it may return.

Even if it never returns, we can't forget that this happened. We can never forget that this took place. Just as I will never forget that slavery took place in this country, I won't ever forget that this took place in Gaza.

God gave us memory for a reason. You have a heart to forgive, but you have a head to remember. I won't forget this. If it ends now, I will still remember the suffering and pain and all the atrocities that took place in Gaza.

Continuing, this is a representation that starts to get to where I am going. It reads: ``The catastrophic levels of hunger and starvation in Gaza are the highest ever recorded on the IPC scale, both in terms of number of people and percentage of the population.''

This document will tell me what the IPC is, and I shall tell you. It is the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the highest ever recorded happening in Gaza now. This is not something that happened ages ago.

We are getting closer to the essence of my message: Of the thousands of Palestinians killed in Gaza, about 70 percent have been women and children. There are estimates out there of tens of thousands. If you give the estimate that is being quoted, someone will say that is a bad source that you got it from, but nobody disputes the fact that tens of thousands have been killed, tens of thousands. Seventy percent have been women and children in the war to date. I won't forget this.

Now, to the heart of my message, this says more than 10 children lose a limb, on average, per day in Gaza. Now, that was a while ago. That was as of January 7, 2024, so it may be a lot different today because of the cessation in hostilities--not the complete stop. They haven't ceased, but there is not as much, not nearly as much, taking place currently.

What you see here is a child, this child I shall read about, and this gets to what I was saying about humanizing. We have to humanize not statisticize. This is more than a number. This is an actual child. We must humanize this baby.

I will read to you now from The New Yorker. The article is styled: ``The Children Who Lost Limbs in Gaza,'' subtitled, ``More than a thousand children who were injured in the war are now amputees. What do their futures hold?''

This is by Eliza Griswold, March 21, 2024. It reads: ``Gazal''--her name is Gazal, we are not saying Gaza, her name is Gazal, this baby-- ``was wounded on November 10, when, as her family fled Gaza City's Al- Shifa hospital, shrapnel pierced her left calf. To stop the bleeding, a doctor, who had no access to antiseptic or anesthesia, heated the blade of a kitchen knife''--she was bleeding as a result of shrapnel, and the doctor took a kitchen knife and heated the knife, it says here-- ``heated the blade of a kitchen knife and cauterized the wound.''

Now, this baby has to be more than a piece of statistical information. This is a human being suffering, and she had the wound cauterized with a heated kitchen knife.

It says: ``Within days, the gash ran with pus and began to smell.''

Now, this is somebody's child. The gash ran with pus and began to smell. Can you imagine what your life would be like if your child had suffered this kind of wound and you had to use a kitchen knife to cauterize, to try to save your baby's life, and then, within days, the gash starts to smell?

``By mid-December, when Gazal's family arrived at Nasser Medical Center, then Gaza's largest functioning healthcare facility''--by the way, it was rendered dysfunctional; if it has been brought back up, it was done so as of late; it was rendered dysfunctional during the war-- ``then Gaza's largest functioning medical facility, gangrene had set in.''

So, we have a baby wounded. Her leg is cauterized, and she is then taken to a hospital because of pus. The cauterized leg is smelling. We have to make sure that you understand that there was an odor that this family detected. It said that gangrene set in, necessitating amputation at the hip. This is a human being.

We have got to do more to humanize. We can't say that children are losing their limbs. A baby lost her leg up to her hip. We have got to do more to humanize. This baby had purpose. She had a life.

Now, someone will say, well, this is not Gaza. It doesn't look like Gaza. If the baby was wounded in Gaza, why is she in this environment? I will get to that. I will get to that.

``On December 17 a projectile''--now remember, she is at this medical center. ``On December 17, a projectile hit the children's ward of Nasser.'' That is the hospital. ``Gazal and her mother watched it enter their room . . . `' They are in the hospital now to receive attention to the wound that this baby suffered earlier, and they watched--this is amazing to me--watched it enter the room. They are saying the projectile came into the room, and they saw it as it was coming in.

Can you imagine the fear? Can you imagine the kind of counseling and psychiatric help you need when you see this?

So this projectile comes into the room, and here is what follows: `` . . . decapitating Gazal's 12-year-old roommate and causing the ceiling to collapse.'' Gazal had a roommate in that facility. This person, 12 years of age, is decapitated.

By the way, Israelis were decapitated, too. I denounced it. I denounced it. I don't believe you can condemn the killing of Israeli babies and then condone the killing of Palestinian babies. I can't do that. The God that I worship doesn't let me do that.

This projectile decapitated Gazal's 12-year-old roommate and caused the ceiling to collapse. ``Multiple news reports have described the event as an Israeli attack. The IDF claimed the incident could have been caused by a Hamas mortar or the remnant of an Israeli flare.'' Now, IDF says it could have been caused by Hamas or Israel. ``Gazal and her mother managed to crawl out of the rubble.'' Here is a baby with one leg amputated up to the hip in a facility to get help, and she has to crawl out. ``Gazal's mother was 9 months pregnant; she gave birth to a baby girl while awaiting the airlift to Doha.

``UNICEF estimates that a thousand children in Gaza have become amputees since the conflict began in October. `This is the biggest cohort of pediatric amputees in history,''' it says, and it is taking place in Gaza.

My time is nearly up, so I have to rush to my close, and I am going to do so, Mr. Speaker, so I beg you would bear with me. This closing has to be heard.

Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining.

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Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we have statisticized, I have tried to humanize, and forgive me for not enunciating some of these words, the verbiage, properly, but my heart was speaking today so my head sometimes gets distorted.

We have humanized this baby. We have talked about what is happening and what has happened.

Now I want to talk to you about something that will give us hope. This is from the speech of the Prime Minister of Japan. He spoke where the Speaker is standing right now. Why would I go to the speech of the Prime Minister from Japan? Well, here is why. Listen to his words. He says--and this is his conclusion--``Let me close with this final thought. I want you to know how seriously Japan takes its role as the United States' closest ally.''

Somebody remembers that the United States was the first country in the world to use nuclear power against a perceived enemy. An enemy, if you will--some would say perceived, I am going to say an enemy at the time. We dropped two atomic bombs, Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and you have got the Prime Minister of Japan standing where the Speaker is now saying that we are their closest ally, they are our closest ally.

He goes on to say: ``Together we carry a large responsibility. I believe that we are essential to peace, vital to freedom, and fundamental to prosperity.''

This is the Prime Minister of Japan. Notwithstanding all that has happened, notwithstanding what we did in dropping atomic bombs on Japan, the Prime Minister proclaims that we are friends.

He goes on to say: ``Bonded by our beliefs, I pledge to you Japan's firm alliance and enduring friendship.''

Why did I bring this up? I brought this up because those who say that we cannot have a two-state solution, I say to you remember that Japan is the country that we dropped atomic bombs on, and we now have a friendship with Japan. We have the Prime Minister coming here and speaking to a joint session of Congress.

Don't tell me we can't have a two-state solution. I know that Mr. Netanyahu's behavior is not that of a person who seeks a two-state solution because if it were, you wouldn't decimate Gaza, you wouldn't kill tens of thousands of people, many of them babies.

I understand that he doesn't want a two-state solution. I understand that Hamas doesn't want a two-state solution. But we cannot be guided by what Hamas and Mr. Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, what they want.

We should be guided by our conscience and do the right thing, and a two-state solution is the right solution.

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