Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Guy Reschenthaler panned the far-left “Squad” members who falsely accused Israel of bombing a Palestinian hospital despite conclusive evidence that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) was behind it.
Following the misfiring of a missile emanating from the PIJ that landed near a hospital, Chief Deputy Whip Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) called out progressive Democrats who were caught pushing Hamas’s narrative in an exclusive statement to Breitbart News on Friday.
“It is reprehensible that Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Summer Lee, and other Democrats promote propaganda from Hamas terrorists to further their antisemitic agenda,” he stated.
The congressman also demanded that Democrat House members denounce such expressions and instead join Republicans in supporting Israel.
“House Democrats must condemn their colleagues’ dangerous rhetoric and stand with Republicans in our support for America’s ally, Israel,” he said.
The matter follows the hasty anti-Israel messages posted by far-left Democrats in the hours after the deadly explosion in Gaza on Tuesday.
WATCH: Media Repeat Hamas Propaganda on Hospital Blast; Israel Shows Evidence Terrorist Rocket Responsible
Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart NewsMichigan Congresswoman and “Squad” member Rashida Tlaib was one of the first to point her finger at Israel as the perpetrator despite the lack of evidence.
“Israel just bombed the Baptist Hospital killing 500 Palestinians (doctors, children, patients) just like that,” she wrote on X, where she boasts more than 1.4 million followers.
Israel just bombed the Baptist Hospital killing 500 Palestinians (doctors, children, patients) just like that. @POTUS this is what happens when you refuse to facilitate a ceasefire & help de-escalate.
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) October 17, 2023
Your war and destruction only approach has opened my eyes and many… https://t.co/mZYoifT7bj
She also wept at a rally as she slammed those who “think it’s okay to bomb a hospital [with] children.”
Happening NOW:
— Wid Lyman (@Wid_Lyman) October 18, 2023
📍U.S. Capitol
Congresswoman @RashidaTlaib speaks to the rally calling for a ceasefire and end of the conflict.
She breaks down stating Israel bombed a hospital killing 500 - this report is now in question
WATCH: pic.twitter.com/fZlHXkUjRc
In addition, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was quick to blame Israel for the hospital strike, though later she partially backtracked after further evidence suggested that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had nothing to do with the explosion and that it was caused by a misfired rocket fired from a Palestinian terror group.
It is a reminder that information is often unreliable and disputed in the fog of war (especially on Twitter where misinformation is rampant). We all have a responsibility to ensure information we are sharing is from credible sources and to acknowledge as new reports come in.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) October 19, 2023
Omar, who has nearly three million followers on X, did not apologize for accusing Israel but called for a “fully independent” investigation to determine “conclusively” who did it.
Meanwhile, Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) posted an Al Jazeera English headline claiming an Israeli air strike on the Gaza hospital killed “at least 500 Palestinians.”
There is no moral ambiguity. Bombing a hospital is reprehensible and a war crime Many have courageously spoken out about the importance of adhering to international law, even in response to heinous acts. This is why.
— Congresswoman Summer Lee (@RepSummerLee) October 17, 2023
And this is why we must all demand a #CeasefireNOW! https://t.co/VL2t2KGKBX
The following day, she admitted the information she posted was “now being disputed.”
“While I never assigned blame to Israel for the destruction of the hospital, I understand why sharing the since-disputed reporting could feel hurtful and unfair,” she wrote.
Progressive Democrat Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-MO) called for a ceasefire after citing an inflated number originally put out by the Hamas-led health ministry of Gaza.
500 doctors, patients, and civilians killed after a hospital in Gaza was bombed.
— Congresswoman Cori Bush (@RepCori) October 18, 2023
We must not look away from this violence. We must prevent further loss of life.
I am urging my colleagues to join me in the call for a #CeasefireNow. https://t.co/OZczntqtyQ
The current assessment puts casualties at anywhere from ten to 50, a far cry from the initial claims of hundreds.
BREAKING: A report from AFP has quoted an EU official who says that it is their understanding that 10-50 people were killed in the Gaza hospital explosion, not the nearly 500 reported by Hamas. pic.twitter.com/4oDZQk4MZE
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) October 19, 2023
However, despite the unconvincing retractions, the damage had already been done.
Protests erupted around the world to demonstrate outrage over the hospital attack, as hundreds clashed with Lebanese security forces near the United States Embassy in Beirut.
Protesters storm US Embassy in Beirut in anger over the hospital bombing. Think they’ll do the same to the Iranian regime’s embassy when they realize it was Islamic Jihad which bombed their own Palestinian people with a misfired rocket? pic.twitter.com/m9YEbGHye9
— Emily Schrader - אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) October 17, 2023
As Breitbart News reported, the Iranian-backed PIJ terror organization was responsible for the catastrophe due to a misfired rocket intended to kill Israeli civilians, according to the IDF.
The IDF has since released audio showing the terrorists’ reaction after realizing their error, while IDF International Spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus provided an in-depth explanation debunking the original claims.
Islamic Jihad struck a Hospital in Gaza—the IDF did not.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 18, 2023
Listen to the terrorists as they realize this themselves: pic.twitter.com/u7WyU8Rxwz
In addition, U.S. intelligence provided an analysis indicating that Israel was not responsible for the explosion.
While we continue to collect information, our current assessment, based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information, is that Israel is not responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday.
— Adrienne Watson (@NSC_Spox) October 18, 2023
The incident occurred during the current conflict between Israel and the terrorist Hamas organization following the latter’s executing the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history on October 7.
The unprecedented attack saw Hamas terrorists gun down participants at an outdoor music festival, go door-to-door hunting, torturing, and shooting Jews in local towns, and burning homes with families inside while proceeding to murder soldiers and infants alike, all while showering thousands of rockets down on Israeli civilian centers.
Video Shows Hamas Rockets, Paragliders, Terrorists Streaming into Israel
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades via Storyful“Squad” members are notorious for pushing antisemitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American sentiment, all while ignoring the plight of Palestinians at the hands of Hamas or Afghans under Taliban control.
Omar, in particular, has a history of controversy, having been accused repeatedly of being antisemitic and anti-American.
Rep. Reschenthaler blasted her in June, claiming she was unfit to serve in Congress after the congresswoman equated the United States and Israel to Hamas terrorists and the Taliban.
“Omar is an antisemite who hates America and hates American troops,” he said. “She has no place serving in Congress.”
In February, he called for removing Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee as a “necessary action to protect our national security.”
In August, Tlaib, a third-term member of Congress long accused of anti-American and anti-Israel rhetoric, faced backlash after attending an event celebrating Palestinian terror, glorifying “martyrs,” and calling for the destruction of the Jewish state.
Here is Democrat Rashida Tlaib — a rabid antisemite — gleefully posing in front of an “apartheid wall” at an anti-Israel art show pic.twitter.com/ElAHSX8bmf
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 4, 2023
She has expressed antisemitic views and has been barred from Israel due to her support for the “boycott, divestment, sanctions” (BDS) movement, and often finds ways of bringing Israel and the Palestinians into matters even when discussing mere local issues.
Detroit is the most beautiful Blackest city in the country and taught me to always speak truth to power.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) May 5, 2023
From Detroit to Gaza, I will continue to demand equality and justice for all. pic.twitter.com/JuSplUWzpO
In May, Tlaib came under fire after it was revealed she would host a congressional event to mark the Palestinian “Nakba” (Catastrophe) — a term used by Palestinians to refer to the creation of the Jewish state.
In 2022, former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon accused the progressive “Squad” member of espousing “pure hate” and “antisemitism.”
Previously, after Tlaib’s participation in an anti-Israel conference with purported terrorist ties as well as having retweeted a slogan calling for the elimination of the Jewish State, Rep. Reschenthaler urged his colleagues “across the aisle” to join him in calling for Tlaib’s immediate removal from all congressional committees.
The radical “Squad” member has long supported emptying out all federal prisons and has scolded President Joe Biden for not enacting Green New Deal-like policies into law while calling for Congress to pass the president’s Build Back Better plan and eliminate the filibuster.
Another “Squad” member, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), who serves as chair of the “Progressive Caucus” in the House, has a history of extremist anti-Israel rhetoric.
In 2018, she accused Israel of “war crimes” after visiting Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, prompting then-U.S. Ambassador David Friedman to walk out of a meeting with her.
In 2021, she tried to justify rocket attacks by the Palestinian terror group Hamas against Israeli civilians by suggesting that Israel had “prompted” such attacks with its own policies.
In July, after the House passed a resolution to condemn antisemitic remarks made by Jayapal, Rep. Reschenthaler released a statement in which he accused her comments of fueling hate while highlighting those Democrats who refused to condemn them.
Is this where the Democratic Party is headed when it comes to Israel?
— Lidar Gravé-Lazi (@LidarGL) July 16, 2023
pic.twitter.com/JJ3WBmW94E
“Words matter. Antisemitic comments espoused by Democrats in Congress further fan the flames of hate in America,” he stated. “While I am glad the House Republican majority took decisive action to condemn Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s antisemitic comments, I am disappointed to see that some of my Democrat colleagues refused to join in this effort.”
“It’s past time for these members to stop embracing hateful and dangerous anti-Israel rhetoric,” he added.
In 2021, Reschenthaler called out congressional progressives for spreading misinformation about the Israel-Hamas conflict, notably their promotion of the Hamas terrorist group’s positions while criticizing Israel and remaining silent over the plight of the very Gaza civilians they claim to be standing up for, as Gazans continue to be ruled by oppressive terror groups.
In response to a barrage of anti-Israel rhetoric by a slew of progressive Democrats, the congressman insisted that “Israel has every right to defend itself against terrorist groups like Hamas.”
ISRAEL FIGHTS TERROR: Is Israel’s Response to Hamas Legal and Justified?
Joel PollakJoshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at