Following his recent trip to Israel, Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) says he believes that the Jewish state is “as close as I’ve understood it to be to ending” the war in Gaza.

“The language around aid has changed. [Israel talks] about surging aid and they talk about ending this war quickly,” Landsman, who discussed his trip on Wednesday with Jewish Insider, said. “They talk about getting the hostages back no matter what, and whether there’s a deal or not, they’re getting them home. So, they obviously can’t speak to what that looks like or what that means, but I got the sense that this should and hopefully will be the end.”

He made a similar comment in a statement on his trip shared with JI, which stated: “The end of the war appears close, and G-d willing it ends very soon. With it, rebuilding of Gaza can begin. The first glimpses of this ‘day after’ plan can be seen, and the Arab nations that have declared the end of Hamas must play a huge role in what happens next.” His comments came as Israel weighs the most recent ceasefire proposal, and as the IDF prepares to call up tens of thousands of reservists ahead of plans to take over Gaza City in the coming months.

Regarding next steps, Landsman wrote in the statement, “This is a moment of truth for Qatar, to be sure. With senior Hamas leaders in their midst, detaining them – if negotiations continue to falter – may be necessary. This could hasten the end of the war and the release of the hostages. They must do everything in their power – now.”

Landsman told JI that he believes “everyone should be putting pressure on all parties to end the war. I think it is entirely appropriate to put pressure on the Israeli government to end this war. I also think it is necessary for people to put pressure on Qatar and Egypt to end this war, to use all of the leverage they have, particularly with the senior Hamas leaders that are in Qatar.”

“I believe that’s true to some extent, to a lesser extent, for folks in Egypt to say we’re done, you have to accept a return, a deal that ends this war and returns hostages. The pressure also needs to be placed on these 22 Arab countries, and I believe Egypt and Qatar are on that list, but the other 20 who have said, in an unprecedented move, that Hamas needs to disarm and disband. Now they’ve got to turn that into action and establish a coalition with the United States and Israel and Europe to end this war,” he continued. 

The Ohio congressman was one of 14 House Democrats who took part in a delegation to the Jewish state last week. The trip was organized by the AIPAC-affiliated American Israel Education Foundation, which organized a similar visit to Israel for House Republicans the week prior that overlapped for several days with the Democrats’ trip.

Landsman told JI that he viewed the trip as an opportunity to accomplish three main objectives: to be available as a resource to answer questions from Israeli leaders and build relationships with newer members of Congress like himself; to get fully briefed on the work being done to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza; and to engage with stakeholders in the broader peace process in the region. “Going sort of allows me to do all three of those things,” he said.

Landsman said that this trip highlighted the similarities between the American and Israeli people and as citizens of liberal democracies where citizens are free to air frustrations about their respective governments. 

“The frustration with the government is something that many Israelis feel. They are frustrated with this government, especially as it relates to Gaza,” Landsman said. “And I appreciate that because it’s a liberal democracy. Israelis are just as critical of this government, if not more, than folks around the world or here in the United States.”

Landsman told JI that the Israeli officials and citizens he spoke with urged him and others on the trip to continue supporting a strong U.S.-Israel relationship during moments when they took issue with some of the actions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

“They remind you that they would never want anyone to abandon them, as we would never want anyone to abandon us. It’s an important reminder that being critical of the government when you disagree is part of democracy, it’s why democracy and freedom are so important,” he said. “There’s a line. In terms of having the strength and courage to both stand up to and criticize your partners, while also having the strength and courage to not abandon them, especially a partnership like this one and in an existential moment such as this.”

The Ohio Democrat offered a similar thought in his official statement, in which he wrote: “Instead of abandonment, many of us have chosen to visit the region, to show up, and to support the Israeli government when we agree and to push back when we don’t. We know that abandonment may be politically expedient, but it is strategically wrong. It will render our country unreliable to those who we need to ensure global security and global prosperity.”

“We must always remain a reliable partner for democracy and peace. The United States of America does not abandon its allies, nor will we do so here,” the statement continued. 

Landsman told JI, “We should not abandon Ukraine and our European allies. We should not abandon, and I don’t believe we will, one of our strongest partners in peace and democracy and freedom, and that’s the state of Israel.”

“We want people to stick with us. That’s why I used the word ‘reliable’ in my statement. We need people to stick with us for our economic prosperity, for national security. If we’re not sticking with others, people will stop sticking with us, and that is very bad for the United States,” the Democratic lawmaker said. 

“This is why we worry about [President Donald] Trump or any president that starts to undermine our relationships with folks across the world. It becomes very, very costly and very dangerous to the United States. We wouldn’t want anyone to look at this government [in the U.S.] and say, ‘Well, we’re gonna back away from our commitment, our investments in America.’ That would be terrible,” he continued.

Landsman said he believed his worldview was shared by the majority of the American people.

“When I come home and have these conversations, I get a very common-sense position. It’s where I believe most people are when I talk to them. They worry about the humanitarian situation. How can you not? They want this war to end. How can you not? They get frustrated with a government that has people like [Israeli National Security Minister Itamar] Ben-Gvir and [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich. Of course, they should,” Landsman explained. 

“But they also know that Hamas can’t stay, and Israel has to figure out a way to win this war or end it so that folks can rebuild without a terrorist organization in their way. They know that Iran is the barrier to everything good in the region. They know if you start to undermine the partnership with Israel, the only people who win are folks associated with the regime and the terror networks they fund,” he added.