The Israeli government and Hamas have reportedly agreed to phase one of a ceasefire plan that would allow for the release of hostages and detainees, and withdrawal of Israeli military forces from parts of Gaza.

After more than two years of pain and suffering, we, along with all those who value peace and justice, welcome news of a pause in the violence and the chance for families to be reunited.

Crucially, this means the influx of urgently-needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, and a respite from incredible violence and terror for millions of people across an entire region.

Yet in this hopeful moment, too many lives remain at incredible risk, and a Trump administration policy would leave them to suffer unnecessarily. Earlier this year, Trump’s State Department stopped issuing temporary medical-humanitarian visas to people in Gaza — reversing a long-standing policy that allowed a small number of people, many of them children, to access life-saving medical care in the United States.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the pause may be temporary, but that was months ago — and it’s time we made the political costs of this choice too hard to bear. Let’s take advantage of every second of this break in the violence and ensure everyone at State hears overwhelming support to reinstate this policy and help people access the life-saving medical care they need.