Hamas is to blame for civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip and Israel, according to Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah).
“You are going to see pictures of Palestinian civilians that are going to be injured, killed by virtue of the conflict, which is ongoing,” he said Sunday in Tel Aviv during a bipartisan solidarity visit with four of his Senate colleagues.
“I hope you recognize that those individuals are being killed because of Hamas, not because of Israel,” Romney said, adding that “Hamas is holding their own population, the Palestinian population, as human shields.”
The senators arrived after the deadly Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 in which more than 1,300 civilians and soldiers were killed, and nearly 200 were taken hostage.
International attention has increasingly turned to the civilian toll in Gaza due to Israel’s retaliatory strikes and measures, which have killed almost 3,000 Palestinians.
US stands with Israel
“They are using Palestinians to protect Hamas lives,” Romney said. “Therefore, when Israel takes action to try and go after Hamas and take out its leadership, there will be civilians and innocents that will be killed. They will parade that as if this is some horror perpetrated by Israel.”
“Do not forget the lives that you will see lost on TV… Israeli lives and Palestinian lives [lost] are all the result of Hamas,” he said.
Romney also took issue with the growing US isolationism.
“There is a war being waged against free countries, against democracies, against freedom,” he said. “It is being waged by Hamas, Russia, China and Iran.
“Backing away and saying we are not going to worry about it is not going to end their effort. That war would only continue and spread further and ultimately involve more and more of humanity,” Romney said.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said: “America will stand with its ally Israel, and I will lead the effort in the US Senate to provide Israel with the support it needs to fully defend itself.”
“America has your back,” he said, and the Jewish state “has a right to defend itself.” He called on the IDF to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza.
Schumer also called for the elimination of Hamas and the release of all the hostages.
The purpose of the trip was partially to better understand Israeli military needs so that Congress could approve the most appropriate aid possible, he said.
Schumer said he understood that this includes intelligence and diplomatic help as well as precision-guided bombs, 155-millimeter mortars, and Iron Dome replacements.
“We will not just talk; we will also act,” Schumer said. “We will work to move this aid through the Senate ASAP.”
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) said: “I understand some of the operational and tactical challenges Israel is facing, expending a stockpile of interceptors that is not limitless… I will speak to members of Congress one by one if that is what it takes to get Israel the munitions you need to defend yourself.”
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) said: “We know in this moment, in this place, we must take decisive action. You have our commitment to do whatever, provide whatever assistance you need.”
During their visit, the senators met with top Israeli leaders and politicians as well as family members of Hamas victims and hostages. They also experienced at least two air-raid sirens.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) told reporters there was no moral equivalency between Israel and Hamas.
“Israel supported the US in its war on terror, and the US will support Israel in its war on terror,” he said.
Cassidy recalled the meeting the senators had with families of those taken hostage.
“One family member said, ‘It’s hard to imagine that the good news, the news that makes you happy is that your terribly wounded son is now alive and being held captive in Gaza, because the alternative is that he is dead,’” he said.
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