Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) led a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Tuesday to introduce legislation honoring victims and hostages of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, seizing on the two-year mark to rally support for a ceasefire deal that could finally end the war and bring the remaining captives home.
The attack, which killed roughly 1,200 people and triggered the ongoing war in Gaza, continues to reverberate, with 48 hostages, including two Americans, still held captive.
“We will not sit idly by,” Gottheimer said, standing beside freed hostages and victims’ families at the Capitol. “Every day since the seventh, we’ve worked to bring every last hostage home, and we’ll keep working until they’re free.”
The New Jersey congressman unveiled the Oct. 7 Congressional Gold Medal Act, co-led with Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), to award Congress’s highest civilian honor to American victims and hostages of the attacks. He also introduced a House resolution, with Reps. Lois Frankel (D-FL), Joe Wilson (R-SC), and Young Kim (R-CA), condemning Hamas’s atrocities, demanding the release of all hostages, reaffirming Israel’s right to self-defense, supporting humanitarian aid for civilians, and denouncing antisemitism. A third proposal, the Oct. 7 Remembrance Education Act, would direct the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to develop a curriculum on the attacks, antisemitism, and the dangers of denial.
A broad coalition of Jewish and national security groups is rallying behind the legislation, including the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Federations of North America, Jewish Women International, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Hadassah, and the National Council of Jewish Women.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been two years since Hamas terrorists brutally raped, burned alive, decapitated, and murdered more than 1,200 innocent people, including dozens of Americans,” Gottheimer said. “This gold medal will enshrine their courage and remind our nation that we must never allow evil to triumph over peace.”
Asked about the bill’s prospects, Gottheimer said he expects swift action once the House returns to session. “There’s been unbelievable support, Democrats and Republicans have come together on this,” he told reporters. “If we were formally in session today, there would be scores more co-sponsors. I’m confident we’ll move this quickly.”
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), a senior House Democrat and longtime Israel ally, joined Gottheimer in introducing the legislation and said he expects broad bipartisan passage. “This is a positive step forward, and I believe the overwhelming majority of the House, on both sides of the aisle, supports it,” Hoyer said. “We will pass this, because it’s the right thing to do, and because remembering Oct. 7 is not partisan, it’s moral.”
Hoyer added that the bills send an unmistakable message beyond Washington. “We must end Hamas’s brutal rule over Gaza to ensure that October 7 never happens again,” he said. “The current peace proposal provides a pathway to achieve that objective. Hamas must accept it, they must surrender, and they must disarm.”
Freed hostage Ilana Gritzewsky, who was held captive for 55 days, described being beaten, sexually assaulted, starved, and deprived of sunlight, suffering a broken hip and dislocated jaw. “Only when all the hostages are home will we be able to begin healing,” she said. “This is not just about Israel, this is about humanity.”
Yasmin Magal, cousin of Omer Neutra, an American-Israeli soldier who was taken hostage and later confirmed dead, spoke on behalf of his parents. “Our message has never changed: Keep the hostage issue bipartisan, humanitarian, and urgent,” she said. “For the first time, there’s real alignment that the moral center of this war is not politics, it’s the fate of the hostages.”
The remarks came as indirect ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations between Israel and Hamas are taking place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, with mediation by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar. The talks center on Trump’s proposed 20-point peace plan, which calls for an immediate ceasefire, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the release of all hostages, the creation of a transitional governing authority under international oversight, and the eventual disarmament of Hamas.
Israel has publicly endorsed many of the framework’s core terms, including a ceasefire, phased withdrawal, and hostage release. Hamas has expressed conditional acceptance, indicating willingness to support a ceasefire and release hostages under defined terms, but has resisted or pushed back on full disarmament, a central point of contention that negotiators are still working to resolve.
Former Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), now CEO of the AJC, praised lawmakers for their “moral clarity” and said the president’s peace framework “represents a potentially historic moment that could bring the hostages home and end the war.” He said the moment demands unity. “Peace cannot begin until the hostages come home,” Deutch said. “Those who truly support peace must pressure Hamas to accept this plan, because when that happens, the war will end.”
For Gottheimer, the legislative effort serves both as remembrance and resolve. “These bills are about honoring the victims, bringing home the hostages, and teaching the truth of what happened, so the world never forgets,” he said. “Hate will lose, righteousness will win.”
, 2025-10-07 22:56:00, 
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