Saying that “there is a different path” in Gaza, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern and six other Democratic lawmakers are calling for a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas that has killed more than 4,000 people on both sides.

The lawmakers released a statement on Tuesday, a day before the U.S. vetoed a United Nations security council resolution calling for a humanitarian pause in the fighting and for Israel to cancel its order that all civilians leave the north of the territory and allow humanitarian corridors into the Gaza Strip.

More than a million people have fled their homes in Gaza ahead of an expected Israeli invasion that seeks to eliminate Hamas’ leadership after its deadly incursion, prompting aid groups to warn that an Israeli ground offensive could hasten a humanitarian crisis.

“This is a moment that calls for moral and strategic clarity,” the statement reads. “That is why we believe that the United States must help achieve an immediate ceasefire, or at minimum, a temporary cessation of all hostilities that stops the threats to civilians in Israel and Gaza.”

The statement was released jointly by McGovern and other members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in the House of Representatives. Other members of the caucus who signed the statement were Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington; Rep. Barbara Lee, D-California; and Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas. McGovern was the only Massachusetts representative included in the statement.

The lawmakers said they were “outraged” by Hamas’ attack against Israel that triggered the conflict and killed more than 1,000 Israelis, but that calls for a cease-fire are not contradictory to support of Israel.

“Our call for a ceasefire should not be mistaken as a lack of support for the protection of the people of Israel,” the statement said. “To the contrary, it is because of our dedication to the safety of both Israelis and Palestinians that we seek a path forward without further escalating the toll of civilian dead and injured.”

The statement went on to say that a cease-fire could provide an opportunity to allow for a safe return of hostages, around 200 of which, including Americans, were taken captive by Hamas, according to Israeli estimates.

“Hamas can and must be stopped and the security of Israel must be guaranteed without the killing of thousands more Palestinian and Israeli civilians,” the statement said. “There is a different path. In this devastating time, the United States must lead the way forward.”

The conflict escalated Tuesday when a deadly blast at a hospital in Gaza killed hundreds of Palestinians, with both sides blaming the other for the blast. U.S. President Joe Biden, who visited Israel on Wednesday, said he supported Israeli claims that the blast was caused by Hamas ally Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group.

Many protests over the war have occurred across the United States, including within McGovern’s home district in Massachusetts, which includes Northampton and Amherst. Last Sunday and Monday, activists with the group Jewish Voice for Peace protested in Northampton near the Coolidge Bridge, calling for a cease-fire and condemning Israeli treatment of Palestinians. Other protests have occurred on the UMass Amherst campus.

The U.N. has described the current situation in Gaza, where about 2 million people live, as a humanitarian crisis, with many people lacking basic necessities and fuel and electricity running dangerously low.

Israel announced Wednesday that it would begin to allow a limited supply of humanitarian aid across the Egypt-Gaza border. On social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, McGovern voiced support for allowing aid into Gaza.

“Time is being wasted,” he wrote. “Food, water and medicine have run out. The UN and other international aid organizations must be allowed to deliver supplies. ”

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.