The newly brokered ceasefire and hostage-release agreement between Israel and Hamas was met on Thursday with a notable lack of enthusiasm from the most outspoken Democratic detractors of Israel in Congress — even as they have vocally advocated for ending the war in Gaza. 

While the deal drew accolades across the political spectrum, from left-wing Israel detractors such as Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) to MAGA stalwarts, some of the most high-profile members of the far-left Squad and other ideologically aligned lawmakers remained silent well after the first phase of the agreement was finalized Wednesday or offered only grudging praise for the long-awaited development that could lead to an end to the war.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Summer Lee (D-PA) and Greg Casar (D-TX), chair of the House Progressive Caucus, did not respond to requests for comment from Jewish Insider and had not weighed in publicly on the deal as of Thursday night, despite widespread reaction to the agreement on Capitol Hill.

In statements to social media, Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Delia Ramirez (D-IL) briefly voiced hope that the deal would hold but reiterated their accusation that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza and called for increased accountability in the conflict, without referring to Hamas’ involvement.

Like Omar, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) made no mention of the hostages in his own response to the deal, which also expressed hope that the agreement would, “as soon as possible,” help end “this horrific war.”

The relatively muted comments — or lack thereof — underscore how anti-Israel lawmakers are reluctant to praise a major diplomatic breakthrough brokered by President Donald Trump — even as it aligns with their interests in ultimately ending the two-year war in Gaza.

They also highlight how the broader pro-Palestinian movement, whose extreme rhetoric has increasingly signaled support for Hamas as a “resistance” group righteously opposing occupation, has grown captive to a narrow and uncompromising conception of the war that attributes blame for the conflict exclusively to Israel while largely dismissing the suffering of the hostages.

In a statement addressing the agreement, for example, Abdul El-Sayed, a prominent critic of Israel who is now running for Senate in Michigan, said that “the impending return of Palestinian and Israeli hostages to their families offers a glimmer of hope in a dark time,” equating Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, some of whom were serving life sentences for terrorism, now set to be released as part of a hostage-for-prisoners exchange with Hamas.

El-Sayed also devoted most of his lengthy message to denouncing “genocide in Gaza,” saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “and all who enabled these atrocities must be held accountable under international law.” El-Sayed’s statement did not name Hamas.

Earlier this week, El-Sayed had drawn widespread backlash over a fundraising email his campaign sent on the two-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that blamed Israel for the war in Gaza but also did not mention the terrorist group or the massacre that had initially sparked the war in Gaza. 

As the new agreement is set to be implemented in the coming days, it will be worth closely observing if the Squad’s rhetoric on the situation in Gaza evolves — and whether even the most hostile critics of Israel can muster even a little enthusiasm for a deal that could fulfill a goal they have pushed since the start of the war.