During a hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, US Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06) urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to increase pressure on Hamas to release hostages held captive in Gaza.
Meng has been a staunch supporter of Israel and the US-Israel relationship long before and especially following the October 7 terrorist attack, the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Since then, she has been a strong advocate for defeating Hamas, bringing hostages home, and delivering critical aid to Palestinian civilians facing a humanitarian crisis.
While questioning Secretary Blinken during a hearing on the State Department’s fiscal year 2025 budget request, Rep. Meng stated, “As we sit here, 124 hostages are being held by Hamas in Gaza, including US citizens. Today marks 228 days that they have been in captivity. As we know from those released, Hamas has inflicted deep psychological trauma and physical and sexual violence on the hostages, including women and children. Many require immediate medical attention, but Hamas still has not allowed the Red Cross to conduct a medical visit, and instead releases “sign of life” videos as propaganda. Many of us here have met with the families of the hostages, and I believe we can all agree that we need to bring them home now.”
In addition, she pressed Secretary Blinken on reporting about Egypt’s role in the latest hostage negotiations and humanitarian aid at the Rafah border crossing.
Meng has met regularly with the families of hostages, including the families of Omer Neutra, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Abigail Edan, and Judith Weinstein. She recently had a second meeting with Or Gat, whose mother was tragically murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7. On the same day, his sister Carmel and sister-in-law Yarden were taken hostage. While Yarden was released as part of a hostage deal last year, Carmel remains in captivity, and Or is continuing to tell her story until she is brought home.
Congresswoman Meng has continually supported funding and programs to bolster the US-Israel relationship and Israel’s qualitative military edge, and to counter Iran’s destabilization efforts. Each year, she leads a letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Defense supporting $500 million in funding for Israel’s vital missile defense programs – Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow-3 – and US-Israel joint missile defense cooperation research and development. Following Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel earlier this year, these systems helped intercept an estimated 99% of ballistic missiles, drones, and aerial projectiles launched at Israel. This year, the bipartisan letter was signed by more than 160 Members of Congress.
Meng has voted at every turn to provide supplemental security assistance to Israel, including for the National Security Supplemental, which provided $14.3 billion in military assistance to Israel. Additionally, she has reiterated that the United States and Israel must be on the same page regarding the timely delivery of congressionally appropriated aid to our ally.
In addition to strengthening the bilateral US-Israel relationship through military assistance, Rep. Meng has also sought to strengthen relations between Israel and the Eastern Mediterranean, recognizing the critical roles that Greece and Cyprus play in countering Hamas and supporting our European allies. She led a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan expressing support for the Cyprus-led Amalthea maritime humanitarian corridor to increase the amount of humanitarian aid reaching Palestinian civilians in Gaza, as well as continued efforts to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to release remaining hostages in exchange for a temporary pause in fighting.
Congresswoman Grace Meng represents New York’s 6th Congressional District in Queens. She is the Vice Ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee and serves on the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, which funds the State Department, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the diplomacy and development work of the United States.
