Sanders calls war in Gaza a ‘genocide’ for the first time

 “The truth is, whether you call it genocide or ethnic cleansing or mass atrocities or war crimes, the path forward is clear. We, as Americans, must end our complicity in the slaughter of the Palestinian people,” the Vermont Independent wrote.

“Over the last two years, Israel has not simply defended itself against Hamas,” Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote. “Instead, it has waged an all-out war against the entire Palestinian people.” | Jose Luis Magana/AP

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday said that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide, the first time the longtime senator and two-time presidential candidate has used the term to describe the conflict.

“I recognize that many people may disagree with this conclusion,” Sanders said in an op-ed posted to his website with the title: “It is Genocide.” “The truth is, whether you call it genocide or ethnic cleansing or mass atrocities or war crimes, the path forward is clear. We, as Americans, must end our complicity in the slaughter of the Palestinian people.”

Sanders’ call to action came shortly after Israeli forces launched a ground offensive in Gaza City, the enclave’s largest city. Just last week, a surprise Israeli strike on Hamas officials in Qatar drew the ire of the White House, with President Donald Trump slamming the unilateral maneuver in a social media post.

Sanders panned the Trump administration for its support of what he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “policy of ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank.”

“Having made life unlivable through bombing and starvation, they are pushing for ‘voluntary’ migration of Palestinians to neighboring countries to make way for President Trump’s twisted vision of a ‘Riviera of the Middle East,’” Sanders wrote.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sanders’ criticism.

The Vermont independent, one of ten Jewish senators, has long criticized Israel over its war against Hamas for its decimation on Palestinian civilians, which has claimed the lives of some 64,000 Palestinians.

In March 2024, months after the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack in southern Israel that triggered the conflict, Sanders called on then-President Joe Biden to stop doling out unconditional military aid for the Middle Eastern ally, telling CBS that the “United States of America cannot be complicit in this mass slaughter of children.”

“Over the last two years, Israel has not simply defended itself against Hamas,” he wrote Wednesday. “Instead, it has waged an all-out war against the entire Palestinian people.”

Sanders has only escalated his pressure since the beginning of the war. He’s pushed several Senate resolutions to ban arms sales to Israel, culminating in a July vote that saw 26 Democrats support halting weapons transfers.