A United States senator called on the Israeli government on the Senate floor to permit urgent humanitarian aid into Gaza. Senator Brian Schatz spoke about the severe weather conditions affecting displaced Palestinians.
Heavy rainfall over the weekend flooded more than 70,000 tents across Gaza, resulting in four deaths, including three children and a woman.
Nearly everyone in the area needs help, according to Schatz. He described the situation as a humanitarian emergency unfolding in real time.
The senator stated that the Israeli government’s ongoing blockade of fuel and the destruction of equipment had made getting help to people much more difficult. He added that this was not a partisan accusation.
Schatz cited criticism from Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, which described the Israeli government’s response as insufficient. The board also stated that delays had worsened the consequences of a foreseeable humanitarian crisis.
Winter is just beginning in Gaza, and conditions will deteriorate without swift action. The Israeli government must immediately allow rescue equipment, building materials, and winter supplies into the territory, the senator said.
Schatz said that disagreements over the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict should not prevent efforts to address the immediate suffering of civilians.
He pointed to the plight of children exposed to freezing temperatures and families whose shelters had been damaged by heavy rainfall.
"We do not need to agree about everything else before we help these people," Schatz said. "We should help them because they are people."
