Israeli Hostage Crisis

Floor Speech

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Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, Representative Wasserman Schultz and I were in the Middle East on October 7 of this year. We were part of a congressional delegation trip led by Senator Joni Ernst, and we went there to talk about peace. Unfortunately, due to the bloodthirsty attack by Hamas, we left the region talking about war.

Despite the change in the tone of our trip, we became the first congressional delegation to visit Israel in the aftermath of the October 7 attack.

While we were in country, though, we met with family members of victims of that attack, including David and Noam Peri, a brother and sister whose 79-year-old father, Haim Peri, was kidnapped by Hamas from his home in the Kibbutz Nir Oz, a peaceful agricultural town whose name means meadow of strength in Hebrew, a town whose 400 citizens probably could be seen prior to the attack taking to the streets to peacefully protest the prime minister's rightwing government.

On the morning of October 7, that town was anything but peaceful as the Hamas attack left it smashed up and smoldering with one in four of its residents either murdered or kidnapped.

That day, Hamas lived up to its definition as a genocidal terrorist organization as it attacked Israel to kill Jews, to kill the Jewish society, and to kill peace.

As part of that goal, Hamas attacked Nir Oz and murdered 27 of its inhabitants and took 73 hostages to Gaza.

At the time of the attack, Haim was not only the leader in that community, he was also a long-time peace activist for the Israeli- Palestinian issues.

He is the type that would drive sick Palestinians from Gaza into Israel to be cared for at Israeli hospitals.

A father of five and grandfather of 13, Haim is now most likely isolated in the dungeons of the Gazan tunnels.

Although Noam Peri describes her father as strong and brave, she also admits that he is not young. A metalworker by trade, Haim has had two heart surgeries and now has been without his heart medication for 7 weeks.

I will never forget when we met them. All that Noam was concerned about was that he didn't have his medication to survive.

Mr. Speaker, it is going to be tough going forward. We hope that the hostages are released and that there are more pauses in the conflict.

We hope to pass and provide meaningful support and humanitarian assistance so that Israel can continue to defend itself from the existential and constant threat of Hamas.

Mr. Speaker, although things may never be the same for Nir Oz, for Haim, and for the family, we do know that because of its determination to survive and succeed, the same determination it has shown for over 75 years in its existence, Israel will continue to be that meadow of strength in the Middle East for peace, for prosperity, and for democracy.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his poignant words.

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