The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment to the annual U.S. State Department appropriations bill on Thursday that would bar the department from citing casualty figures from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
The amendment, introduced by Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) and co-sponsored by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Carol Miller (R-W.Va.), passed 269-144, with 62 Democrats joining 207 Republicans to ensure its passage.
In a floor speech supporting his amendment, Moskowitz said civilian deaths in Gaza were tragic but that the State Department should not be using casualty figures provided by a U.S.-designated terrorist group.
“The Gaza Ministry of Health is the Hamas Ministry of Health,” Moskowitz said. “It is Hamas’s goal to sell propaganda to the American people, to sell propaganda to the world.”
“Hamas is not a credible source,” he added. “Since when is Hamas credible?”
Following the passage of Moskowitz’s amendment into the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2025, the bill would need to pass both the House and Senate and be signed by the president before it would become law.
