Raskin says calls for cease-fire, pause should include deal to free hostages, remove Hamas

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) stipulated Sunday that his call for a humanitarian pause or cease-fire between Israel and Hamas must include the removal of the militant group, along with the release of hostages.

In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Raskin outlined his idea for what he hopes would be a better future for the Israeli and Palestinian people.

“The underlying political dynamic is that there must be a recognition of the interests of the people in Gaza to democracy, to freedom and their rights,” Raskin said.

“There’s got to be a democratic Palestinian state that emerges from this nightmare that is safe and secure, and we have a safe and secure Israel to go with it,” he added. “Otherwise, we’re going to keep reenacting this cycle of bloody violence and revenge forever.”

Raskin said reports of a five- or six-day pause in fighting and the resulting release of dozens of hostages “moves in the right direction,” and he said he supports President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s steps toward achieving peace.

Raskin called Hamas “a terrorist medieval death cult, which just assassinated more than 1,200 Israelis.”

When anchor Jake Tapper pressed Raskin on whether he believes the numbers reported out of the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry — which reported that more than 11,000 Palestinians have died since the war began — Raskin said, “if it were half of that, it is still an absolute tragedy.”

Raskin on Friday joined a list of Democratic lawmakers to call for a humanitarian pause or a “mutually agreed-upon cease-fire” that would “provide for a ‘global humanitarian surge’ of aid to hundreds of thousands of displaced and suffering innocent civilians throughout Gaza.”

Raskin’s careful call for a cease-fire comes at a time when public pressure has grown in response to Israeli bombings in Gaza and its ground invasion. Israel claims it is targeting Hamas and not civilians and that Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, is using civilians as human shields.

About 240 hostages were taken from Israel and are understood to be held by Hamas in Gaza.