Whereas, on October 7, 2023, the terrorist organizations Hamas, Palestine Islamic Jihad, and associated forces instigated an unprecedented ground, air, and sea assault against Israel, killing at least 1,200 Israelis, taking hostage at least 200 people, and injuring thousands of civilians; Whereas Hamas and other terrorists have long called for the eradication of the State and people of Israel and have sought to slaughter, brutalize, and abduct innocent Israeli civilians, including the elderly, those with disabilities, and infants and children alike; Whereas, since the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack, Hamas has continued to hold hostage innocent Israelis and indiscriminately launch rockets at Israeli civilians; Whereas Israel has called for Hamas to immediately release all hostages and to unconditionally surrender; Whereas, in the midst of Israel’s legitimate actions of self-defense in response to this terrorist attack, Israel Defense Forces has taken extraordinary steps to reduce civilian casualties, including establishing humanitarian corridors, while adhering to the law of armed conflict; Whereas multiple authorities within the United States Government have, on a nonpartisan basis, observed that Hamas has routinely and unabashedly used innocent civilians to shield their weapons and terrorist militants from legitimate military engagement, resulting in avoidable civilian deaths that are entirely the fault of Hamas and other terrorist organizations; Whereas Hamas’ use of human shields is a both a violation of humanitarian law and an egregious war crime that results in the deaths of many civilians; Whereas reports indicate that Hamas is preventing civilians by force from utilizing humanitarian evacuation corridors from north Gaza to south Gaza established by the Israel Defense Forces