Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene became the first congressional Republican to use the word “genocide” to refer to Israel’s actions in Gaza Monday, and a Democratic member of the Georgia delegation followed suit Tuesday.

“It’s the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct 7th in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza,” the Rome Republican posted on social media Monday.

The death toll of Israel’s war topped 60,000 Monday, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, with women and children reportedly making up around half of the dead. In recent days Gazans have been dying of malnutrition in what critics call a deliberate campaign of starvation on Israel’s part, a claim Israeli officials deny.

Greene’s comments were in response to her House colleague, Florida Republican Congressman Randy Fine, who in a social media post called stories of malnutrition “Muslim terror propaganda.”

“Release the hostages. Until then, starve away,” Fine wrote.

Support for Israel was once a no-brainer for both parties, but support among the Democratic base has taken a nosedive since the war began in 2023 after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel, killing 1,200 and abducting another 251.

A recent Gallup poll found 60% of U.S. adults expressing disapproval for Israel’s military action in Gaza compared with just 32% approving. Only 8% of Democrats and 25% of independents in the poll said they approved, while 71% of Republicans were in favor of Israel’s actions.

Still, skepticism of the war – and especially U.S. bankrolling of it – has taken hold among some prominent conservative politicians, especially Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, while conservative thought leaders and influencers like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Theo Von and Joe Rogan have increasingly questioned Israel’s actions.

Greene is considered one of President Donald Trump’s most stalwart allies, though in recent weeks, she has publicly disagreed with the White House over topics including artificial intelligence regulations, funding for the war in Ukraine and whether to release the Epstein files.

Trump acknowledged the hunger crisis in Gaza on Monday, saying there is “real starvation” there – comments that represented a break from ally Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who had said Sunday that “there is no starvation in Gaza.”

On Tuesday, 43 Democratic senators, including Georgia’s Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock along with one independent, signed a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for a large-scale expansion of humanitarian aid into the enclave.

State Rep. Ruwa Romman, a Duluth Democrat who is Georgia’s first Palestinian lawmaker, said she hopes Greene’s remarks will help put the plight of Palestinians into focus but also expressed puzzlement that she made them.

“I cannot speak to the Congresswoman’s motivations considering her past comments about Jewish, Muslim, and Arab community members,” Romman said. “Although this is attention grabbing, it’s another indicator that people oppose the genocide in Gaza. But, I hope people remember that Palestinians have been saying this for almost two years and moving forward will center the community impacted instead.”

Greene has faced criticism for statements and social media posts deemed Islamophobic – after Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim man, won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, she posted a picture of the Statue of Liberty dressed in a burqa – as well as antisemitic – she has been mocked as believing in “Jewish space lasers” after a 2018 post in which she suggested California wildfires may have been caused by a satellite owned by the Rothschild family.

Only a handful of sitting members of Congress have used the term genocide to describe Israel’s actions. Greene joins Democratic colleagues including Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.

Greene previously sponsored a resolution to censure Tlaib for comments opposing the war.

On Tuesday, Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson, a Lithonia Democrat who has long been a vocal critic of Israel’s actions, joined that cohort with his own statement condemning the killing.

“To date, the Israeli military has killed 62,000 people in the war on Gaza — the overwhelming majority being women and children — not Hamas fighters. Now, in addition to aid convoys, even churches where Christians are huddled for safety are being bombed. Meanwhile, the people of Gaza are literally being starved to death,” Johnson said in the statement.

“Silence is no longer an option. What is happening in Gaza is genocide. U.S. military support for genocide in Gaza must end. NOW!”

U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, an Atlanta Democrat who has pushed for more information about Israel’s plans to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, called the situation a “humanitarian crisis.”

“Nowhere in the world should children be dying of starvation or forced to live in the conditions the people of Gaza have endured,” Williams said in a statement Tuesday.

“This is a humanitarian crisis — one that deserves investigation and should be subject to the same level of scrutiny that Rep. Greene referenced. The focus of members of Congress should be how we resolve this crisis, bring all hostages home and reach lasting peace and stability in the region.”

The Recorder reached out to all members of Georgia’s House delegation Tuesday for comment.

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.