A Pentagon employee who worked for the Hamas-linked Qatari government has been pushing on social media for Israel to end its war on Hamas, undercutting the Biden administration’s stated support for the Jewish state’s defensive war.
Yousra Fazili, who serves as chief of staff to Pentagon comptroller Mike McCord, has been using her private Instagram account to promote pro-Palestinian demonstrations across America that have excused Hamas’s slaughter of Israeli citizens and called on the Jewish state to agree to a ceasefire, according to social media posts obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
Fazili, prior to joining the Pentagon, worked for more than three years as a strategic adviser to Qatar’s ambassador in America, prompting concerns in Congress that she helped Doha target "prominent Americans in an effort to silence Qatar’s critics," according to a letter from Rep. Jack Bergman (R., Minn.) sent earlier this month to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
With Doha playing a central role in international efforts to mediate a hostage deal with Hamas, whose senior leaders live in Qatar, Fazili’s social media posts in support of a ceasefire appear at odds with the Pentagon, which is offering robust military support to Israel as it tries to dismantle the terror group’s operations in the Gaza Strip.
"Let Gaza Live," read one Instagram post that Fazili reposted. She went on to praise students at Harvard for a series of pro-Palestinian rallies accusing Israel of "genocide" and demanding an immediate ceasefire.
"I’m so proud of these kids at Harvard," Fazili wrote, referring to an effort by media watchdog groups to identify the leaders behind the pro-Palestinian rallies. "The leaders all got doxxed this week & undeterred they continue to organize and come out strong."
Writing about Israel’s expected ground operation into the Gaza Strip, Fazili claimed the Jewish state has already destroyed the Hamas-run enclave and should not send in troops.
"I can’t help but think, what’s left to destroy?" she wrote in an Instagram posting that depicts what appears to be rubble in the Gaza Strip. "Is this helping find the hostages? Who in their right mind can see this and not believe in a ceasefire?"
In another post, Fazili displays pictures of a mass anti-Israel demonstration held over the weekend in Washington, D.C., and wrote that "ceasefire is what everyone should be pushing for."
"So proud of these demonstrators in front of the White House yesterday," she adds.
Fazili also thanked a cadre of anti-Israel members in Congress for pushing a hotly contested resolution in the House calling for an immediate ceasefire. The resolution was endorsed by members of the anti-Semitic "Squad," including Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.).
The Pentagon official’s social media posts are at odds with the Biden administration’s stated policy towards the war. U.S. officials have not called for a ceasefire and are pivoting military assets into the region in a bid to bolster the Jewish state’s security. The Biden administration also is moving forward with efforts to provide Israel with defensive artillery, including missiles used in the country’s Iron Dome, which shoots down terrorist rockets while they are in the air.
A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on Fazili’s posts or describe the department’s social media policies when contacted by the Free Beacon. The spokesman said the Department of Defense would respond to Bergman’s concerns about Fazili’s past work with the Qatari government separately.
"The department provides responses directly to members of Congress in matters of this kind," the spokesman said. "We have no additional statement to provide at this time."
Bergman, in his Oct. 12 letter, asked for information to prove "the Pentagon has properly vetted Ms. Fazili’s openly acknowledged relationship with one of the two primary sponsors of Hamas," the Qatari government.
"This matter is even more urgent now," the lawmaker wrote, "in light of the unprecedented terrorist attacks launched on October 7 targeting Israel—with over 1,200 murdered as of this writing, including at least 22 American citizens—by Hamas’ leadership who are currently overseeing the slaughter of men, women, and children from inside luxury residences provided by Ms. Fazili’s former client, the State of Qatar."