New York Lawmakers Sign Letter Urging Humanitarian Aid to Enter Gaza

A group of Hudson Valley lawmakers signed onto a letter on July 26 calling for immediate and unrestricted humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

The letter, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, was signed by several lawmakers, including New York 19th District Representative Pat Ryan, Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger, Senator James Skoufis, and District 103 Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha.

Other legislators from Orange, Ulster, and Columbia counties joined more than 90 elected officials who signed onto the statement.

“Our communities span diverse histories, traditions, and beliefs, but we are united in a shared commitment to human dignity and justice,” the letter stated. “And we are united in this moment by both condemning the October 7th massacre perpetrated by Hamas and an unavoidable truth: a famine is unfolding in Gaza before the eyes of the world.”

UN-backed food security experts have warned that the worst-case scenario of famine is playing out in the Gaza Strip. One in three people is not eating food for days at a time, according to the IPC, a leading food security organization.

For nearly three months, Israeli forces blocked aid from entering Gaza, baselessly alleging that Hamas was diverting food aid. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces while trying to get food in Gaza, according to the U.N.

This past week, Israel paused fighting in parts of Gaza to allow for international airdrops of food aid to resume after international backlash.

The coalition letter further declared, “We urge our fellow Americans to speak out, to support relief efforts, and to demand that our leaders use every tool of diplomacy to end this crisis. History will remember what we did, or failed to do, in this moment.”

Image: New York Attorney General Letitita James at a 2024 press conference (Photo Credit: Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)