Israel is still blocking aid as the UN warns 14,000 babies will die without urgent humanitarian assistance
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and 45 colleagues were blocked by Republicans when Senator Welch requested unanimous consent to pass his resolution calling for the delivery of lifesaving food and humanitarian aid for starving children in Gaza.
After an 11-week blockade by the Israeli government, 93 trucks entered Gaza yesterday but according to the UN, no aid has been distributed. An estimated 600 trucks of food, baby food, and medical supplies are needed, and the UN warned yesterday that 14,000 babies will die in the next 48 hours without aid.
“It’s not right for aid to be withheld as an instrument of war. And, regrettably, that appears to have been a decision that has been made by the Israeli government. It’s not right, it’s not necessary, it’s not helpful, it’s extraordinarily harmful to innocent children, to innocent mothers. My hope is that this Senate would pass a resolution making it very clear about our concern about the well-being of innocent Palestinians in Gaza. That food that innocent hat those Palestinians in Gaza need is right on the other side of the border. It’s there. All it needs is to be transported from where it is into Gaza and then distributed,” said Senator Welch. “We’ve got to feed those people. The food is there. We all want those innocent people to survive and avoid famine. Let us do every single thing we can to persuade the Israeli Netanyahu government to get that food in to people who desperately need it.”
Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) objected, saying: “Look, this is this is despicable. This is horrible. This is criminal. It’s beyond human understanding how human beings could treat other human beings the same way, especially when you relate it to them as they are in Palestine. I agree that this needs to stop, but the first thing that needs to be said is that this is the fault of Hamas and it is not our fault.”
Watch the exchange here:
The resolution called on the Trump Administration to use all diplomatic tools at its disposal to bring an end to the blockade of food and lifesaving humanitarian aid to address the needs of civilians in Gaza. In the resolution, Senators expressed grave concern about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including the imminent starvation of tens of thousands of children.
Read S.Res.224 here.
The resolution was led by Senator Welch and sponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.); Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.); Michael Bennet (D-Colo.); Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.); Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.); Cory Booker (D-N.J.); Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.); Chris Coons (D-Del.); Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.); Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.); Dick Durbin (D-Ill.); Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.); Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.); Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.); Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.); John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.); Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii); Tim Kaine (D-Va.); Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.); Andy Kim (D-N.J.); Angus King (I-Maine); Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.); Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.); Ed Markey (D-Mass.); Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.); Chris Murphy (D-Conn.); Patty Murray (D-Wash.); Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.); Alex Padilla (D-Calif.); Gary Peters (D-Mich.); Jack Reed (D-R.I.); Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.); Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.); Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii); Adam Schiff (D-Calif.); Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.); Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.); Tina Smith (D-Minn.); Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.); Mark Warner (D-Va.); Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.); Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.); Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.); and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)
###