House lawmakers shaken after screening of Oct 7 footage of Hamas atrocities

Lawmakers from both parties were invited by the House Foreign Affairs Committee to watch the footage. In an email to members, the committee said that the video was “proof of Hamas” war crimes.

The screening was organized in conjunction with the Israeli Embassy. The footage has also been shown to journalists in Tel Aviv, Washington, New York and Hollywood.

Approximately 300 people from the two parties attended the screening of the 47-minute-long footage of the attack, during which Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people and took approximately 240 others hostage.

The footage was compiled by the Israeli government from terrorists’ body cameras, cellphones, security footage, and social media, as well as videos taken by victims and first responders.

According to The Washington Post, the video included “…graphic footage of burned, disfigured and bloodied bodies strewn across roadways and the floors of homes. In one video, captured by a security camera, Hamas militants can be seen killing a man with a grenade, and then pulling drinks from the refrigerator as the man’s sons scream and cry.”

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter “This morning I viewed the horrific footage of Hamas killing, torturing, and kidnapping Israeli civilians. I’m gutted. This is barbarism and an attack on all humanity. We cannot let this ever happen again and we must never forget.”

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) told Fox News, "I've seen decapitation and I've seen just beating, and beating on both dead and alive bodies. And quite frankly, I'm just sick to my stomach."

He added, "I mean, the details. And you can hear it, but when you see it, it's like visiting Auschwitz or Birkenau, except it's still going on visually."

Some lawmakers were seen leaving the screening in tears. Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-MD) told The Post, “It’s a nightmare. It’s a nightmare. We have 21st-century technology and 14th-century brains. The human species has a lot of work to do.”

He added that lawmakers were “shaken to the core.”

“It was utterly chilling,” Raskin told the outlet. “Hamas is a terrorist death cult, and it would clearly kill every person in Israel if it could. Nor does it show any interest in the rights of the Palestinian people.”

He said that the “civilized world” must act to “stop terrorism, protect civilian life, and quickly bring peace and human rights to a region drenched in blood.”

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who worked with the Israeli ambassador to screen the footage, told The Post he did so because “the narrative [is] shifting that somehow the Palestinians are the victims.”

McCaul added that the worst footage was not included such as a baby being ripped “out of a mother’s womb before her eyes, and killing her child before they killed her.”

He added that the video had such “horrific scenes that I can’t get into detail about because they’re so disgusting.”

McCaul said, “I can assure you, everybody who saw that video today knows who the real victims are — the victims were the Jewish people.”

Following the screening, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) demanded the Biden administration stop sending money to Iran, which funds Hamas, “…as long as they fund terrorism and attacks on America or Israel.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, did not attend the screening but told reporters on Tuesday that she will continue to push the White House for a cease-fire so that “we can start to negotiate how to get the hostages back, how to get humanitarian aid in, and how to have a lasting political situation where Israelis and Palestinians can truly live together.”

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) told The Jewish Insider he couldn’t imagine how “anyone could call for a cease-fire after watching that.”