Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said he was “shaken” and “angered” following Hamas’s attacks on Israel this weekend, where the lawmaker had traveled to give a speech.
“I was in Israel when the horrific attacks carried out by Hamas started on Saturday,” the Democrat wrote on Twitter. “My team and I are now safe, but like many we are shaken, angered, and heartbroken by the hundreds killed, the thousands injured, those taken hostage, and all who are directly affected by these sickening terrorist attacks.”
Booker was one of at least two members of Congress in Israel this weekend when Hamas launched a shocking attack on Israel, prompting a declaration of war from the Israeli government. The country quickly began a counterattack against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, and more than 1,100 people have been killed.
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) was also in Israel for a bar mitzvah with his wife and three of his children. Both Goldman and Booker have since been able to safely leave the region.
Booker described the moment Hamas’s attack on Israel began, saying he was out for a run in Jerusalem’s Old City when an aide called and told him to return to his hotel.
“There were thousands of rockets being launched,” the senator said, noting he sheltered in the hotel’s bomb shelter in a stairwell. He said he saw “frightened faces. There were children and elderly families, many Americans. There was a sense of fear and worry and a knowledge to many of us that there were horrific things going on around the country at that time.”
The senator wrote he hoped the United States and his colleagues in Congress would work to ensure stability in the region and a long-term peace process.
“We, who believe in peace and freedom and human rights for Palestinians and Israelis for all of humankind, must reject those who use terror as their weapon,” he added.