Need to eliminate Hamas once and for all, says Congressman Thanedar

Describing Hamas as a barbaric terrorist organisation, an Indian American Congressman has said there is a need to eliminate the terror outfit.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a barrage of rocket attacks in Southern Israel on October 7. The unprecedented assault triggered retaliatory strikes from the Israel defence Forces.

Hamas is not a militant organisation. Hamas is not a resistance movement. They are just barbaric terrorists. There's no other way to describe it, Shri Thanedar told a group of eminent Indian-Americans at the US Capitol Hill on Monday.

This is a time where we just can't just push them. Because they will regroup and come back and do these atrocities once again. That's what they will do. So, we need at this stage to eliminate them; eliminate them from the face of this earth, he said at an event organised by HinduACTion here in support of Israel.

We need to dismantle their military operations. We need to free the Palestinian people, the two million Palestinian people who live in Gaza. They need to be freed from these terrorist control of Gaza, he said.

In a joint declaration, members of various faiths who attended the event urged the US Congress to develop comprehensive policies to enhance and guarantee the safety and security of Hindus, Sikhs, Jews, Hazara and Yezidi communities on college campuses.

The declaration urged the US Congress to strengthen laws to protect Jewish staff and students against rising anti-Semitism on American campuses. It also appealed to the Congress to recognise Hinduphobia, formulate laws to counter growing anti-Hindu bigotry and targeted Hinduphobia.

Thanedar, who recently formed the Congressional Caucus for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains, said that there are increasing instances of Hinduphobia in the country.