WASHINGTON — One day after 98 humanitarian aid trucks in the Gaza Strip were looted, a group of Democratic senators are proposing an end of U.S. munitions shipments to Israel for offensive operations in Gaza. 

What You Need To Know

  • A group of Democratic Senators introduce resolutions to block arms sales to Israel

  • They say the U.S. government is in violation of the Foreign Assistance Act and Arms Export Control Act

  • More than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel retaliated against Hamas for its Oct. 7 attack

  • The senators say the U.S. is providing weapony to a country that is violating internationally recognized human rights and blocking U.S. humanitarian aid

Led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who caucuses with Democrats, the group is proposing three resolutions to block the shipment of tank and mortar rounds and bomb guidance kits.

“The U.S. government is currently in violation of the law, and every member of the U.S. Senate who believes in the rule of law should vote for these resolutions,” Sanders said during a news conference with fellow Sens. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. “The Foreign Assistance Act and Arms Export Control Act are very clear. The U.S. cannot provide weaponry to countries that violate internationally recognized human rights or block U.S. humanitarian aid.”

Sanders acknowledged that Israel had a right to respond to the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 250 people and took 150 hostages. But he said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has responded by not only waging war on Hamas but the Palestinian people.

Of Gaza’s 2.2 million people, 43,000 have been killed and more than 103,000 have been injured since Israel invaded Gaza in October 2023, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Over the past 13 months, 87% of Gaza’s housing, 84% of its health facilities and 70% of its water and sanitation plants have been damaged or destroyed, and all of its 12 universities have been bombed, Sanders said.

He said the U.S. was complicit in Gaza’s destruction by providing $18 billion in military aid and 50,000 tons of military equipment to Israel within the last year.

“That complicity must end, and that is what these resolutions are all about,” Sanders said. “It’s time to tell the Netanyahu government that they cannot use U.S. taxpayer dollars and American weapons in violation of U.S. and international law and in violation of our moral values.”