After Israel Kills 60 People in Gaza, Dozen Senators Call for Humanitarian Assistance While Rights Groups Demand US End Military Aid to Israelis

Two after Israel soldiers killed an estimated 60 unarmed Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza who were protesting against occupation and the provocative decision by the Trump administration to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and 12 of his Democratic Senate colleagues on Wednesday called on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to “do more to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.”

At the same time, human rights groups outraged by the massacre in Gaza also wrote to Pompeo and lawmakers, demanding a probe into the unlawful killings and the end of military aid to Israel.

“For the sake of Israelis and Palestinians alike, the United States must act urgently to help relieve the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.” —letter from U.S. SenatorsIn their letter (pdf) to Pompeo, the lawmakers said the “territory’s lack of power, clean water, adequate medical care and other necessities not only exacerbates the hardships faced by Gaza’s population” and only serves to exacerbate the desperation felt by those living there and the cycle of violence that continues to plague the region.

“The political and security challenges in Gaza are formidable, but support for the basic human rights of its people must not be conditioned on progress on those fronts,” the letter to Pompeo notes. “For the sake of Israelis and Palestinians alike, the United States must act urgently to help relieve the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. We stand ready to work with you on this important matter.”

In addition to Sanders, the letter was signed by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Thomas Carper (D-Del.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.).

Offering one crucial and specific step, the letter urges the Trump administration to restore U.S. funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which is cut off last year. The letter also calls for the easing of restrictions on the movement of people, goods and equipment in and out of the territory, both by land and sea.