SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio City Councilwoman Teri Castillo is calling for a cease-fire as fighting escalates in Israel and Gaza, and also calling for an end to the blockade of Gaza and apartheid governance.
Castillo, who represents District 5, started her statement by mourning the civilian lives lost on both sides of the conflict.
"The escalation of war and occupation will not solve this issue," Castillo said. "We must push our elected officials in Congress to have the moral courage to demand a cease-fire, to demand an end to the total blockade of food, water, and medicine in Gaza, and to call for an end to apartheid governance. There are both Jewish and Palestinian voices worldwide, and in this community, who share these sentiments."
Several human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have claimed that the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians is an apartheid system. The Israeli government controls what goes in and out of Gaza, including food, water, electricity and people. Israel's military said Thursday that since fighting began less than a week ago, they've dropped over 6,000 bombs on the densely-populated Gaza strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “crush” Hamas after the militants stormed into the country’s south on Saturday and massacred hundreds of people, including killings of children in their homes and young people at a music festival. Netanyahu said Hamas' atrocities included beheading soldiers and raping women, descriptions that could not immediately be independently confirmed.
“Not a single electricity switch will be flipped on, not a single faucet will be turned on and not a single fuel truck will enter until the Israeli hostages are returned home,” Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said on social media.
Castillo's call came hours after Mayor Ron Nirenberg opened Thursday's City Council meeting with a resolution supporting Israel while condemning Hamas "for the barbaric acts of carnage against Israel and its people." Tel Aviv-Yafo is one of San Antonio's four "friendship cities," a relationship which was established in 2011.
"The City of San Antonio stands in solidarity with Israel as we mourn the loss of Israeli and American lives and the loss of Palestinian civilians," Nirenberg said Thursday morning, acknowledging the loss of Palestinian lives as well as Israeli and American ones in the conflict. “We pray for the families of those who were killed during the horrific violence. We pray for the swift, safe return of all hostages, and we pray for a peaceful, just resolution.”
Hamas’ assault on Saturday killed more than 1,300 people in Israel, including 247 soldiers — a toll unseen in Israel for decades — and the ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed more than 1,530 people in Gaza, according to authorities on both sides. Israel says roughly 1,500 Hamas militants were killed inside Israel, and that hundreds of the dead in Gaza are Hamas members. Thousands have been wounded on both sides.
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