The horror in Gaza must end

The human catastrophe in Gaza cannot continue. The heinous October 7 Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel have been followed by a brutal Israeli assault on Gaza, with bombing intensity unprecedented in this century. Twelve hundred Israelis were killed with another 240 taken hostage. The number of Palestinians slain now exceeds 18,000, including an estimated 10,000 women and children.

- Jesse Jackson, Tribune Content Agency

Nearly 2 million residents have been forced to leave their homes to seek refuge in the south, and now the bombing has started in the south. UN representatives warn of a spiraling humanitarian crisis with thousands of children now at risk of dying from starvation. This nightmare must end.

This weekend, the Rainbow Push Coalition and other concerned organizations will convene an emergency summit in Chicago to call on Congress and the Biden administration to demand an immediate ceasefire, an end to Israeli bombing in Gaza, the safe return of all hostages, and immediate and sustained relief to the almost 2 million displaced Palestinians in Gaza.

The unimaginable destruction and death in Gaza are a human catastrophe for the civilians there. It also represents, as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin suggested, a "strategic defeat" for Israel, which is surely generating more terrorists than it is killing.