2024 -- H 7055

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LC003534

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES TO THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL AFTER

THE OCTOBER 7, 2023, TERRORIST ATTACKS BY HAMAS

     Introduced By: Representatives Newberry, Ackerman, Noret, Chippendale, Finkelman,
Baginski, Solomon, Fenton-Fung, Perez, and Azzinaro

     Date Introduced: January 05, 2024

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     WHEREAS, The Islamic Resistance Movement, better known by its acronym Hamas, is

a Palestinian Sunni Islamist group internationally recognized as a terrorist organization that was

formed in 1987; and

     WHEREAS, Hamas has called for the destruction of the State of Israel in its founding

charter, and has sponsored and participated in terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians since that

time; and

     WHEREAS, Hamas won a majority of the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006 and

has served as the government of the Gaza Strip since 2007; and

     WHEREAS, On the morning of October 7, 2023, Hamas initiated “Operation Al-Aqsa

Flood” and began firing over 5,000 rockets towards civilian targets across Israel; and

     WHEREAS, The initial rocket attach was followed by the invasion of over 3,000

terrorists organized, trained, funded, and led by Hamas who infiltrated Israel through multiple

breaches in the Gaza border security barrier; and

     WHEREAS, The Hamas terrorists immediately began attacking civilian and military

buildings, setting up ambushes for first responders on highways, systematically raping,

murdering, and kidnapping women, children, and men of Israeli and numerous other nationalities;

and

     WHEREAS, The Hamas terrorists stormed a music festival taking place near Re’im,

murdering over 357 civilians, many of whom were trying to escape, and taking over forty others

hostage; and

     WHEREAS, The Hamas terrorists infiltrated numerous Kibbutz settlements housing

families, where they systematically murdered, desecrated, burned, and raped victims, kidnapping

others; and

     WHEREAS, The Hamas terrorists methodically moved from house to house in numerous

settlements, executing parents in front of their children, executing children in front of their

parents, decapitating the heads of babies, and in at least one case, murdering a visibly pregnant

woman and ripping her child out of her body, leaving the child to die; and

     WHEREAS, The Hamas terrorists recorded their actions on first-person cameras and

other devices, showing them taking turns raping civilian women before executing them in cold

blood; and

     WHEREAS, Over 1,200 innocent victims were murdered by Hamas on October 7,

including 14 children under the age of 10 and 25 people over the age of 80, and over 240 have

been taken hostage and held as human shields in the Gaza Strip; and

     WHEREAS, In light of these tragic atrocities, Israel must take steps necessary to prevent

the horrific pogrom of October 7 to ever occur again; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

extends its deepest condolences to the people of the State of Israel and the families of the victims

of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Israeli Ambassador to the United States,

Mike Herzog.

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