WashingtonWith over 40 senators signing a letter on Tuesday calling for the restart of ceasefire negotiations and harshly denouncing an Israeli-backed American organization that was established to provide food aid, Senate Democrats are pleading with President Donald Trump’s administration to take a more active role in addressing the situation in Gaza.
The senators said in a letter to Steve Witkoff, the Republican president’s special envoy and secretary of state, that the agency, which was established in February with support from the Trump administration, has not addressed the worsening humanitarian crisis and has led to an unacceptably high number of civilian deaths near the organization’s locations.
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Senate Democrats, who are unable to control Washington, made a mostly unified call for the Trump administration to change course following the breakdown of ceasefire negotiations last week. On Monday, Trump split with, citing the pictures of hungry children and stating that he wanted him to.
Trump did not provide any specifics when he stated on Monday that the United States will establish food facilities to help with the deteriorating humanitarian situation. In a subsequent statement, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly claimed that Trump wants to ease the suffering of the Gazan people because he has a humanitarian heart and that further information would be released soon.
On Tuesday, neither the State Department nor the White House had provided any information regarding the food center plans. At a briefing, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce defended the work of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and stated that the president would make further announcements after his return from Scotland.
Getting more food, access, and everything else is the problem here. Bruce stated, “That has always been at the top of our list,” but he would not elaborate on the circumstances.
The Senate Foreign Relations committee’s chair, Republican Sen. Jim Risch, acknowledged Tuesday that he had received a briefing on the food centers but refused to elaborate.
Democrats, meanwhile, were advocating for a massive increase in aid into Gaza that would be distributed through local organizations with experience.
Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, claimed that the shift in Israel’s policy on the entry of aid into Gaza was to blame. He also remarked that it was completely implausible to believe that the Israeli military, which is among the most sophisticated in the world, could not facilitate the distribution of help.
According to him, they decided to create a new method for distributing meals. And it’s completely failing.
Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, another Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated that he has not yet heard anything about the centers and expressed skepticism that Trump’s plans can solve the famine problem in Gaza.
Could food centers be established in the US? Yes, but what about Mercy Corps, the World Food Program, and all the other organizations that have been doing this for decades? Why don’t we give them permission? The Associated Press was informed by Kaine.
Additionally, the letter states that efforts to reach a ceasefire deal are as urgent and crucial as ever. Four Jewish members of the Democratic Caucus, Senators Adam Schiff of California, Chuck Schumer of New York, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, and Schatz, spearheaded the statement, which demands the return of the approximately 50 hostages that Hamas has kept since then—20 of whom are thought to still be alive.
The letter’s signatures from 44 senators, representing the great majority of the Senate Democratic Caucus, demonstrate how much Democratic unity they have managed to accomplish. They condemned any permanent displacement of the Palestinian people and demanded an end to the battle that would see Hamas lose control of Gaza and a long-term aim of both an Israeli and a Palestinian state.
According to Schiff, the letter demonstrated how the majority of the caucus feels that the current state of affairs is just untenable.
He went on to say that there is simply too much misery and heartache, too much hunger, and too much death.
Republicans, meanwhile, are supporting Israel and Trump’s handling of the crisis. Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated that while he was pleased with Trump’s attempt to mediate the situation, the Israelis must return their prisoners.
Nevertheless, even Republican members of Congress appeared to be receiving pictures of Gaza’s deteriorating hunger situation.
On social media over the weekend, Georgia’s far-right Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who frequently demands that foreign aid be stopped, remarked that what has been happening to children and innocent people in Gaza is terrible. The humanitarian crises and war must cease!
Even after Trump won the election with “America First” foreign policy aims and launched his government by dismantling U.S. international aid programs, Schatz saw it as evidence that many Americans genuinely care about suffering in other parts of the world.
According to Schatz, they are witnessing pictures of anarchy and suffering that were either brought on by the US or at the very least might have been avoided. Additionally, the president is suffering as a result.
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This report was written by Michelle L. Price and Joey Cappelletti of the Associated Press.
