Summer Lee slams Israeli Gaza plan as occupation expansion

Squirrel Hill rep accuses Israel of "ethnic cleansing"

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, who represents Squirrel Hill, has accused Israel of having a longstanding plan to reoccupy Gaza and to ethnically cleanse the Palestinian population.

Last Friday, Lee wrote on X and Facebook:

“Israel’s efforts to expand its occupation in Gaza mean further displacement and destruction for the Palestinians they are staving [sic] to death. This has always been the plan, and the U.S. has been complicit in this ethnic cleansing using billions of taxpayer dollars.”

Israel’s efforts to expand its occupation in Gaza mean further displacement and destruction for the Palestinians they are staving to death.

This has always been the plan, and the U.S. has been complicit in this ethnic cleansing using billions of taxpayer dollars. https://t.co/nS95K5cFQq

— Rep. Summer Lee (@RepSummerLee) August 8, 2025

Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, unilaterally dismantling all its settlements in the Strip and evacuating some 8,500 residents.

Last week, Israel’s security cabinet approved a proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take over Gaza City. The cabinet stated that Palestinians will have until Oct. 7, 2025, to evacuate Gaza City — a two-month window that coincides with the second anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel, The Times of Israel reported. The IDF will then launch its ground offensive into Gaza City, placing a siege on the area in order to kill any remaining Hamas operatives.

Netanyahu told foreign journalists on Sunday that Israel will begin the plan “by first enabling the civilian population to safely leave the combat areas to designated safe zones. In these safe zones, they’ll be given ample food, water, and medical care.”

Addressing humanitarian concerns, Netanyahu said, “Our policy throughout the war has been to prevent a humanitarian crisis, while Hamas’ policy has been to create it.”

The Israeli prime minister denied allegations that the IDF enforced a starvation policy in Gaza, and insisted that Israel allowed sufficient aid in throughout the war, while Hamas disrupted aid flow and the United Nations failed to properly distribute it.

Since the beginning of the war, Israel has let in “close to 2 million tons of aid,” Netanyahu said. If we had a starvation policy, no one in Gaza would have survived after two years of war. But our policy has been the exact opposite.” PJC

The Times of Israel contributed to this report.