House Democrats are sounding renewed alarm over Israel's military operations in Gaza after a recent strike killed seven workers at a respected humanitarian organization delivering food to starving Palestinians.
The tragedy and the resulting protests are a sharp contrast between Israel's conservative leaders and liberal Democrats on Capitol Hill, whose aggressive response to the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians. It highlighted the strained relationship between them. Condemnation of the tactics of its closest Middle East ally is growing.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the unusual step of issuing a public statement deploring Monday's deadly incident that targeted a convoy of vehicles operated by World Central Kitchen. He called it “unintentional.”
But this rare misdemeanor did little to appease Democrats. Democrats have accused Israel of conducting indiscriminate operations that do too little to protect the lives of civilians, journalists and aid workers caught up in the ravages of the war against Hamas terrorists.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement: “The murder of seven Central Kitchen of the World employees who were delivering desperately needed food aid to the Gaza Strip is an act of inhumanity. ” he said. “The Israeli government must allow the flow of life-saving aid to innocent families in the Gaza Strip and ensure the safe movement of those delivering aid. Hunger is not a weapon of war. We need food. and we must share our humanity.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) issued a similar condemnation, characterizing the strike against aid workers as “disgraceful” and calling for an “immediate ceasefire” so that more humanitarian aid can be provided.
“The Israeli government must make every effort to protect and protect the innocent civilians and humanitarian aid workers caught in the midst of this conflict,” DeLauro said. “More than 1 million innocent Palestinians in Gaza are facing starvation. Food cannot be used as a weapon of war.”
The incident highlighted long-simmering tensions between liberal Democrats and conservative Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister.
Democrats have been quick to support Israel's right to defend itself against regional adversaries, especially in the wake of Hamas attacks that killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped 250. But as the Palestinian death toll exceeds 30,000, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denies journalists free entry to Gaza, and humanitarian aid is delayed to a trickle, leading to warnings of impending famine, the Democratic Party's The tone has changed rapidly in the months since.
World Central Kitchen, founded by celebrity chef Jose Andrés, launched a food program in Gaza earlier this year to try to fill some of that void. Monday's attack by Israeli forces forced the group to suspend its operations in the region, worsening the humanitarian crisis and prompting fresh condemnation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Democratic critics.
“Despite Prime Minister Netanyahu's government's refusal to facilitate adequate amounts of humanitarian aid in Gaza, the loss of innocent civilians and endangerment of aid workers throughout this conflict has been devastating.” said former Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (D.N.J.). Navy helicopter pilot.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement on Tuesday that he regretted the incident but defended the ongoing operation in Gaza.
“This is what happens in war,” he said. “We are conducting a thorough investigation and are in contact with the government. We will do everything we can to prevent it from happening again.”
Andres quickly disputed that account, telling Reuters on Wednesday that Israeli forces were targeting his group “systematically, vehicle by vehicle.”
“This wasn't just an unfortunate situation where you dropped a bomb in the wrong place, 'oops,'” Andres said.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian American lawmaker and one of Netanyahu's top Democratic critics, posted a similar opinion on Instagram. ”
“Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to starve Gaza to death. [is] They are using hunger as a weapon of war,” she added.
Growing Democratic criticism of Israel's offensive and Prime Minister Netanyahu's leadership has brought sharp focus to the House of Representatives, which is scheduled to reconvene next week to begin work on additional legislation on national security that is likely to include aid to Israel. I guess I'll guess. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said Congress would address foreign aid “immediately” after the current recess.
For months, a minority of liberals has called for “conditions” on new military aid sent to Israel in response to the rising number of civilian deaths, further splintering the rival House Democratic caucus. Some argue that the United States should cut off aid to Israel completely.
In the wake of the attack on World Central Kitchen workers, progressives are once again elevating their ranks.
“The latest horror from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Gaza airstrike, which killed brave souls at @WCKitchen delivering food to starving Palestinians. A separate attack also killed at least five children, including five children, in Rafah. 15 Palestinians have been killed. We must stop US military aid being used for indiscriminate killings,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, wrote about X. .
The House has already passed twice to send aid to Israel. One attempt was successful, but the bill has since stalled in the Senate as Democrats push to consider many foreign aid provisions in one package, including military aid to Ukraine and humanitarian aid to Gaza. ing.
The White House dismissed the prospect of putting conditions on aid to Israel. White House chief national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the United States continues to support Israel as it faces a “real threat” from Hamas.
“We're going to make sure they can protect themselves and make sure October 7th never happens again,” Kirby said Tuesday.
“That doesn't mean it's a free pass,” he added.
The war has left Mr. Biden in a political bind. He has simultaneously delivered the harshest criticism of Israeli leadership from the White House in decades, while at the same time demanding military equipment to continue the military operation that has devastated Gaza, where more than half the population is made up of women and children. It has been provided to Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Last month, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.N.Y.), the highest-ranking Jewish official in U.S. history, called for new elections in Israel while slamming Prime Minister Netanyahu's leadership. The bond was further strengthened after he gave a floor speech requesting this.
Biden said Schumer gave a “good speech,” adding, “I think he expressed serious concerns that many Americans share, not just Schumer.” Asked if the president was in favor of new elections in Israel, Kirby told reporters it was “for the Israeli people to decide.”
Republicans generally do not have similar concerns. They defended Israel's strong military response throughout the operation and blamed the surge in casualties on Hamas militants, who have long used a strategy of collusion with civilians. Some suggest that Israel was not aggressive enough.
Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), a former pastor, told voters at a town hall last week that the United States “shouldn't be spending a dime on humanitarian aid,” and said Israel's attack on Hamas was unwarranted. , which caused controversy. “It should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima, please end it quickly.” He said in a statement Sunday that “the use of this metaphor and the removal of context distorted my message.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) suggested that all Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including children, are complicit in Hamas terrorist attacks.
“These are not innocent Palestinian civilians,” he told human rights protesters in February.
The outpouring of Democratic criticism of Israel in the wake of the World Central Kitchen deaths is unlikely to reach a boiling point. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested for weeks that Israeli forces are planning to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have fled during the war.
The Biden administration has taken a strong stance against Israel's invasion of Rafah and is urging allies in the Middle East to consider alternatives as they look to next moves in the ongoing war. U.S. and Israeli officials met virtually on Monday, and a joint statement issued afterward said the Israeli side “considered these concerns and agreed to conduct follow-up consultations among experts.”
The White House fielded questions from reporters Wednesday about how much influence Biden and the administration have in preventing a full-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip's only border with Egypt. He claimed that his conversations with the Israelis were ongoing.
However, if Israel moves forward with its invasion of Rafah, criticism of the Democratic Party is likely to increase further.
“The Biden administration is deeply concerned about Palestinian lives and civilian lives, and has made clear that an invasion of Rafah would mean too many civilian deaths,” said Congressman Ro Khanna. (D-Calif.) told CNN this week. .
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