Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) on Tuesday warned that the war in Gaza appears to be turning into a “quagmire” akin to the Iraq war, without clear objectives or any realistic end point.

The pro-Israel Democrat has grown more vocal lately about his criticisms of the Israeli government and how it has been handling the war in Gaza, as concern about the humanitarian situation in the enclave has mounted on both sides of the aisle. He has also continued to offer support for Israel and emphasize that Hamas is primarily responsible for the war in Gaza.

“I want to see Israel secure the release of hostages and end the war, because as long as the war persists, there’s a real potential — our experience with Afghanistan and Iraq tells us that wars in the Middle East can morph into quagmires that have no clear end in sight that have no clearly defined strategic objectives,” Torres said in an interview with The Bulwark.

“I feel this is a quagmire that could persist indefinitely with no clear end in sight,” he continued, a situation he said would limit the Israeli economy and expansion of the Abraham Accords. He said the Israeli government has failed to outline clear objectives for the war. “It feels like a quagmire reminiscent of the war in Iraq.”

He said that Israel has been “extraordinarily effective” in its operations against Hezbollah and Iran, “but [I] have concerns about the war in Gaza.” 

Torres said that “war becomes a process of mutual dehumanization which we’re seeing in real time. There should be space in the American heart for the humanity of both Israelis and Palestinians.”

He said that Hamas is the “central cause” and “primarily responsible for the suffering that has been unleashed since Oct. 7.” 

But he also said that the “humanitarian crisis in Gaza is simply and morally unacceptable and all parties including Israel and the United States must do their part to ease the hardship and hunger that has taken hold in the Gaza strip. To me, it is wrong to deny or downplay the crisis.”

He rejected arguments that he said he’d seen from Israeli officials that the crisis in Gaza is purely Hamas propaganda, and said that he can’t deny to constituents concerned about the issue that it is happening.

The correct response, he continued, is “not to downplay it, but it’s to tell our constituents that we are doing everything that we can to ease suffering among Palestinian civilians and children. That the war is not against the Palestinian people. It’s against Hamas.”

Iran launched several missiles at a U.S. base in Qatar, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Monday. Majed Al Ansari, spokesperson for the ministry, affirmed that “Qatar’s air defenses successfully thwarted the attack and intercepted the Iranian missiles.” 

Qatar “consider[s] this a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar, its airspace, international law, and the United Nations Charter. We affirm that Qatar reserves the right to respond directly in a manner equivalent with the nature and scale of this brazen aggression, in line with international law,” Al Ansari said.

The Ain al-Assad base housing U.S. troops in Iraq was also targeted, an Iraqi security official told the Associated Press.

Three Iranian officials familiar with the plans told The New York Times that Iran gave advance notice to Qatar that attacks were coming.

Qatari authorities had previously grounded all air traffic and the U.S. Embassy in Doha had issued a warning to Americans in the country to shelter in place in anticipation of an Iranian retaliation to U.S. strikes on its nuclear program.

“As part of the State of Qatar’s commitment to the safety of its citizens, residents, and visitors, the competent authorities announce the temporary suspension of air traffic in the country’s airspace,” Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a written statement. “This is part of a set of precautionary measures taken based on developments in the region.”

Al Udeid Air Base, one of the targets of Iran’s strike, serves as U.S. Central Command’s forward headquarters and hosts over 10,000 American personnel. The U.S. evacuated its aircraft from the base in the week prior to the strikes on Iran.

A Reuters report on Sunday quoted a senior U.S. official saying that Iran would likely attempt to strike U.S. assets in the region within one or two days.

According to a White House official, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth were monitoring developments from the Situation Room. President Donald Trump was scheduled to receive a briefing at 1:00 p.m. ET.