In the 10 months of Palestinian genocide, only recently have United States officials echoed calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, President Joe Biden and Vice President and President-elect hopeful Kamala Harris among them. Despite this call, I cannot help but grow more and more frustrated as the gap between their words, actions, and the latest news headlines widen. 

In a recent interview with CNN, Vice President Harris confirmed that she would not back track on providing arms to Israel if she is elected as president in November. In the same breath, she also expressed the dire need for a ceasefire in the region. President Biden has expressed the same sentiments – continue providing weaponry and work for a ceasefire. 

You cannot call for a ceasefire and provide the fire you are trying to cease. 

As of August 2024, the U.S. has provided over 50,000 tons of military aid to Israel since it began its bombardment of Gaza, including 2,000-pound MK-84 bombs and Hellfire missiles as reported by Reuters. In May, the U.S. withheld a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs over concerns of Israel’s invasion of Rafah and other use of the bombs in densely populated areas in Gaza. However, the government later proceeded with shipping the 500-pound bombs within the withheld shipment. 

U.S. bombs have routinely been used in Israel’s attacks on Gaza. A U.S.-made GBU-39 was used in a May attack on Kuwaiti Al-Salam Camp 1 located in Rafah. The strike killed at least 45 and injured over 200 others. The same type of bomb was used in an airstrike that targeted a United Nations school in Nuseirat Refugee Camp, which killed at least 32, seven of whom were children. Last year, Amnesty International found that Joint Direct Attack Munitions made in the U.S. were used to bomb civilian homes in the Gaza Strip and AP indicated that U.S. made 2,000 and 500-pound bombs have been commonly used in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. 

It is absolutely beyond me how a government can knowingly continue to provide weapons to a country using said weapons to commit literal war crimes. Moreover, it is mind-boggling that the president, vice president and other officials will routinely express their “unequivocal” support for that country when they have massacred at the very least 40,000 people, including almost 17,000 children. 

And don’t forget, these numbers are likely to be vastly lower than the total death toll. 

For a government that seems to care about human rights abroad, it sure has a funny way of showing it. 

But I guess that’s just politics.

Whether it is silencing Palestinian voices at the Democratic National Convention, the obviously cherry-picked word-choice when it comes to talking about Israel versus talking about Palestine, attacks on peaceful crowds of Palestinian protesters and encampments on college campuses or sending weapons to Israel, the United States has wholly ignored Palestinian plight and suffering.

At this point, the U.S. government might as well be telling Israel to “please, fire.”