Washington, DC – Images of emaciated children leaving Gaza moved some of the largest supporters in Israel in the American Congress to denounce the humanitarian situation of the besieged Palestinian territory ravaged by the famine imposed by Israeli.
Some Democratic legislators have enabled Israel in recent days, criticizing the United States and the GHF food distribution mechanism supported by the United States and Israelis which led to the death of more than 1,000 Palestinian rescue seekers.
But others have published waves calling for helping to enter Gaza without directly blaming Israeli policies.
“This is reality: after having already killed or injured 200,000 Palestinians, mainly women and children, the extremist Israeli government uses mass famine to design ethnic cleaning of Gaza,” Progressive Senator Bernie Sanders said on Friday.
He accused the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of having carried out an “extermination” campaign in Gaza.
Anger threatens to shake up the strong bipartisan support that Israel has benefited for decades in Congress, which authorizes the billions of military aid that the American ally receives from Washington each year.
But so far, there does not seem to be any significant push to impose real consequences on the Israeli government for its forced mass campaign in Gaza.
Last week, the United States House of Representatives voted massively to approve $ 500 million in anti-missile defense support against Israel.
‘It cannot continue’
On Saturday, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen denounced Netanyahu and US President Trump for replacing the humanitarian aid groups in Gaza “by mercenaries – leading to more death and devastation”.
“Each day, Gaza’s horrors reach new unimaginable depths,” wrote Van Hollen in an article on social networks.
The Trump administration spoke of American support for the GHF operation – which the United Nations and the rights defense groups described as a “mortal trap” and “human slaughterhouses” – and falsely blame Hamas for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“This cannot continue,” said Van Hollen.
The member of the Congress John Garamendi suggested that “the dangerous and deliberate failure of Israel to allow humanitarian aid” in Gaza is equivalent to a genocide.
Only a handful of members of the progressive congress accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, an effort to destroy the Palestinian people.
But the main rights defense groups and UN experts have concluded that the Israeli military campaign is genocidal.
“Israel has the capacity and the means to deliver adequate foods to the Palestinians,” Garamanddi said in a press release. “They also have an obligation under international law to issue it; It is Prime Minister Netanyahu’s choice not to feed Gaza. ”
It must end. My declaration on the famine crisis in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/qzevd2wjcp
– John Garamendi (@repgaramendi) July 26, 2025
Many Israeli officials have publicly declared that they were aimed at cutting aid in Gaza and forcing all Palestinians to leave the territory, effectively promoting ethical cleaning. Many have suggested that there are no innocent in the enclave.
Earlier this week, the Minister of Israeli Heritage Amichai Eliyahu seemed to confirm that his country deliberately fell asleep, saying that “there is no nation that feeds its enemies”.
“The government is rushing to make Gaza be destroyed,” said Eliyahu in a radio interview, according to the Times of Israel.
According to the Gaza health authorities, at least 127 Palestinians died of malnutrition in the enclave, including five on Saturday.
On Thursday, the member of the Wesley Bell Congress – which was supported with millions of dollars of pro -Israeli groups last year to defeat the former Cori Bush deputy, one of the main criticisms of Israeli policies – has spoken out against Israel’s actions.
“I have always supported Israel’s right to exist and defend itself. This has not changed,” said Bell in an article on social networks.
“But supporting the actions of this government – allowing children to starve and shoot civilians looking for food – is something that I cannot bear. It is not a self -defense. It must stop.”
The Summer Lee Congress also said on Friday that Israel is blocking humanitarian aid in Gaza while shooting assistance seekers seeking to receive food from GHF sites.
“People collapse in the streets of extreme famine. Horrors on horrors,” said Lee in an article on social networks. “The United States must stop funding famine and genocide manufactured by Israel.”
Vague affirmations
All the American legislators who spoke of the issue were as energetic as Lee during the fight against the crisis.
Many did not point the finger on Israel, while others prefaced their slight criticism of the American ally with the usual conviction of Hamas.
Several members of the Congress have reiterated the Israeli lie that Hamas steals the United Nations humanitarian aid – a complaint which has been refused by United Nations agencies and field aid groups, and for which Israeli military officials recognize that they have no evidence.
MP Gras Meng said in a statement that “as a mother”, her heart breaks to see children in Gaza, but she has repeated pro-Israeli discussion points.
“It is important to recognize that Israel has facilitated the entry of more than 1.8 million tonnes and more than 96,000 trucks in Gaza, while Hamas continues to hold hostages, extort the aid system and refuse the cease-fire offers to stay in power and prolong the war,” said Meng in a statement.
My complete declaration on the humanitarian crisis and the urgent need of peace in Gaza👇 pic.twitter.com/dnnar0DGGC
– Grace Meng (@repgracemeng) July 25, 2025
Throughout 22 months of war, Israel has enabled a aid net to enter Gaza – but below the needs of the population. And since March, Israel has tightened its blockade on the territory, making dead GHF sites almost the only source of food for the Palestinians.
Hamas also denies rejecting ceasefire agreements. Instead, the group says that it is looking for a permanent end of war, while several Israeli officials said that Israel will carry out its military campaign in Gaza even if a short -term truce was reached.
The member of the Congress Adam Smith called Israel to take the “measures necessary to mitigate the humanitarian disaster” in Gaza, but he concentrated his criticisms on Hamas, echoing the Israeli arguments not based on the Group cease-fire agreements and stealing aid.
“I believe that we can both continue to support Israel in their efforts to defend themselves against Hamas, Iran and others in the region which continue to continue their efforts to attack and destroy Israel, and work immediately to relieve the suffering of the inhabitants of Gaza,” said Smith in a statement.
Similarly, Senator Cory Booker published a 172 -word statement on the famine crisis in Gaza which only mentioned the word “Israel” only once – by calling for a strategy to “strengthen the security of Israel”.
“It is our collective moral duty to ensure that humanitarian aid reach those who need it most urgently,” Booker said in a statement.
Criticize trump
At the same time, some Democrats invoked the crisis of reprimanding Trump – their political rival – without denouncing Israel.
The leader of the minority of the room, Hakeem Jeffries, set the tone for this approach with a statement on Friday at the end of Friday which focused on Trump but who failed to criticize Israel explicitly.
“The famine and death of Palestinian children and civilians in an ongoing war area are unacceptable,” said Jeffries. “The Trump administration has the ability to put an end to this humanitarian crisis. They must act now.”
Declaration on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/sfpn3f8h89
– Hakeem Jeffries (@repjeffries) July 26, 2025
For his part, the member of the Congress Tim Kennedy stressed that Trump did not hold his promise to end the war against Gaza.
“His strategic and moral failure has led to deteriorating the conditions, with new reports and mass images of the Palestinians,” Kennedy said in a statement.
Trump’s Republican Party was largely silent about the worsening of hunger in Gaza.
But the member of the Congress Randy Fine – a close ally of the American president – seemed to both approving the famine campaign of Israel in Gaza while rejecting him as “Muslim terrorist propaganda”.
“Release the hostages,” he wrote in an article on social networks earlier this week. “Until then, start.”
