House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) avoided agreeing with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s statement earlier this year that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is an obstacle to peace.

In an appearance on NBC News’s Meet the Press, Jeffries repeatedly avoided criticizing Netanyahu, saying instead there will be “ample room” to assess the war in Gaza. Instead, he blamed war casualties on Hamas, and called on the Israeli government to follow President Joe Biden’s peace plan.