ROANOKE, Va. (WAVY) — One year before the war in Gaza, Roanoke-based Del. Sam Rasoul, of Palestinian descent, took his children to the region his parents fled in the late 1960s. Today he can't escape images of devastation that he says are that difficult to fathom.

"The reality is that we welcome any type of reprieve," Rasoul said, "but, you know, we've seen these efforts not last in the past, and people who have been displaced over and over again over the past two years, it's really a stain on humanity, for sure. And we have lots of lessons to learn to ensure that never again, in fact, means never again."

Last month, a committee of the United Nations called the situation genocide; Rasoul called it genocide last year.

"Well, the devastation has been unbearable," Rasoul said, "that in 202

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