Marjorie Taylor Greene calls crisis in Gaza ‘genocide,' first Republican lawmaker to do so
In a social media post on Monday evening, Greene wrote: 'It's the most truthful and easiest thing to say that October. 7 in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza,'.
Her comments reflect a growing shift in tone among some Republicans, and stand in contrast to the position of most of her party, which has consistently supported Israel since the conflict began.
Over the past several weeks, Greene has gradually increased her criticism of how the war is being handled. Earlier this month, she said Israel had bombed a Catholic church in Gaza and that the area's population was being wiped out.
She had also tried to remove $500 million in US military aid to Israel from the annual defence spending bill. That proposal failed, with only six members of Congress supporting it two Republicans and four Democrats, including Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, the only Palestinian American in Congress.
Greene had previously clashed with Tlaib over Gaza. Two years ago, she led a failed effort to censure the Democrat for comments made at a pro-Palestinian rally, accusing her of antisemitism and support for terrorism.
Greene's comments this week were also a direct response to remarks made by Florida Republican Randy Fine. In a social media post last week, Fine dismissed images of starving children in Gaza as 'Muslim terror propaganda' and wrote: 'Release the hostages… until then, starve away.'
Fine, a first-term lawmaker and a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has defended Israel's military actions and framed criticism of its operations as unfair.
Greene rejected that position. On Sunday, she said in a post that she could 'unequivocally say' that the killings in Israel on 7 October were horrific 'just as I can unequivocally say that what has been happening to innocent people and children in Gaza is horrific.'
I can unequivocally say that what happened to innocent people in Israel on Oct 7th was horrific.
Just as I can unequivocally say that what has been happening to innocent people and children in Gaza is horrific.
This war and humanitarian crisis must end!
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) July 27, 2025
President Donald Trump, who was in Scotland on Monday to open a new golf course, also spoke about the crisis. He said he believed there was real starvation in Gaza and called for more aid.
'That's real starvation stuff I see it, and you can't fake that,' Trump said after meetings with European leaders. 'We have to get the kids fed,'.
Though Greene made her recent comments before Trump's remarks, others in the pro-Trump faction of the Republican Party have since echoed similar concerns about the need to protect civilians.
(With inputs from The New York Times)
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