Bay Area Leaders Call for Humanitarian Aid in Gaza As Global Criticism of Israel Grows

“It’s too little, too late,” Oussama Mokeddem, government affairs director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ California chapter, said about Israel’s announcement that it would allow for more aid distribution. “People have already died, and in large numbers. Why did we have to wait until so many people died such a cruel death to start talking about this?”

Mokeddem said the organization is also seeing conflicting reports about whether humanitarian workers and civilians are actually experiencing an increase in food distribution sites on the ground.

DeSaulnier was one of several state leaders to sign a resolution in the House of Representatives last month calling for the immediate delivery and disbursement of food and humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the region.

Rep. Samuel Liccardo, D-San José, who also signed the resolution, posted on the social media platform X last week to criticize what he described as the United States’ “military support” of Israel’s actions in Gaza.

“We cannot walk away from this humanitarian disaster … or we will be morally complicit in the death of these starving children,” Liccardo wrote. “Yes, Hamas must release hostages to end this war, but the Israeli government must end this suffering — and we must demand it.”

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi also took to social media on Sunday to bring attention to the crisis in Gaza. Pelosi was one of the earliest cosigners of a letter sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week that demands more transparency on the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S. and Israel-backed nonprofit which her office alleges received millions of dollars in federal funding.

Officials are seeking more clarity on the foundation’s funders and what its oversight structure looks like, according to a spokesperson for Pelosi’s office. They’re also seeking more information on reported violence at GHF distribution sites.

“The humanitarian crisis and mblock starvation in Gaza — particularly affecting children and infants — is a catastrophic moral emergency,” Pelosi posted to X. “The United States must urgently press for an immediate and sustained ceasefire which ensures safe delivery of life-saving blockistance to Palestinians.”