Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY) pushed back at criticism that Israel is causing an "escalation" with the recent assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.
"Since October 7th, Hezbollah has fired 7,000 drones, missiles, and rockets at Israel. Yet Israel is the one accused of 'escalation,'" Torres wrote on X on Sunday morning.
"Israel may be the only nation on earth that would be accused of escalation after daring to defend itself against 7,000 mass murder attempts by the world’s most heavily armed terrorist organization," he added. "The absurdity of the double standard has become too glaring to ignore. Yet ignored it continues to be."
Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s killing, though Israel has not claimed or denied responsibility. They, together with Hezbollah, have vowed revenge for both Haniyeh’s elimination as well as for the elimination of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr
US President Joe Biden privately demanded in his "tough" call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that he stop escalating tensions in the region and move immediately toward a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, two US officials told Axios’ Barak Ravid on Friday.
According to the Keshet News report, the conversation between the two leaders involved raised voices, and Biden even told Netanyahu, "Stop bullshitting me!"