- ‘I want this to sink in. Children in Gaza are now dying from the deliberate withholding of food… That is a war crime’
- The senator from Maryland said in the Senate on Monday that aid should be made conditional on compliance with international law
- The White House has said there is no evidence that there have been “deliberate” attempts to commit war crimes by the Israeli military.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen stormed into Israel on Monday evening after a visit to the region for a ‘textbook war crime’, but still voted to finance the war against Hamas.
The Maryland senator said any U.S. assistance must be conditional on compliance with international law. He referred to an analysis by the World Food Program and the United Nations Children’s Fund detailing the famine in Gaza as a result of Israel’s Hamas siege in the area.
‘I want this to sink in. Children in Gaza are now dying from the deliberate withholding of food,” he said Monday in the Senate during deliberations on a $95 billion foreign aid bill.
‘Besides the horror of that news, there is one more thing that is true. That’s a war crime. It’s a textbook war crime. And that makes those who orchestrate it war criminals.”
The White House, which backed the aid package, has said there is no evidence there have been “deliberate” attempts to commit war crimes by the Israeli military.
And hours later, Van Hollen dismissed his concerns and voted in favor of the $95 billion package, which provides $61 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel.
It also provides $9.15 billion in humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, Ukraine and other conflict zones around the world.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen stormed into Israel on Monday night for ‘war crime’ after visiting the region, but still voted to fund the war against Hamas
The deal passed by a vote of 70-29, but Speaker Mike Johnson has insisted it will not be voted on in the House of Representatives without border security provisions.
Van Hollen said he spoke with Cindy McCain, head of the World Food Program and wife of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., about the report.
“I sent her a note, a text message asking about reports that some children have now crossed the terrible threshold of being on the brink of starvation or dying of hunger. She wrote back, and I quote, “This is true. We can’t get enough food to keep people from the brink. Famine threatens. I wish I had better news.’ End quote.’
Last week, conservatives rejected a similar deal that included immigration provisions that they say do not go far enough to secure the southern border.
The senator from Maryland said in the Senate on Monday that aid should be made conditional on compliance with international law
Palestinians inspect the rubble of the Hasouna family home, which was hit by an Israeli airstrike during an operation to rescue two hostages in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Destroyed houses during an Israeli military operation in the Al Bureije refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, February 13, 2024
Van Hollen said Biden “must demand” that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “immediately allows more food, water and other lifesaving supplies into Gaza.”
He also urged President Biden to “speak out more clearly” about the rising number of civilian casualties in Gaza.
“I don’t know if it hurts the president and his fellow Democrats. I do think it is important that the president speaks out more clearly on this issue,” Van Hollen said in an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” in November.
