Rosen calls for aid to Israel after visit to Middle East

Sen. Jacky Rosen heard sirens go off and took shelter multiple times during a weekend trip to Israel, with hundreds of missiles flying overhead every night.

“You wait and you wait, and you don’t know what you’re going to come out to. This is the kind of terror that is happening every day,” the Nevada Democratic senator told the media Thursday during a call to discuss her trip and the next steps in helping both Israel and innocent Palestinians affected by the conflict.

Rosen, the only Jewish woman serving in the Senate, was part of a bipartisan delegation of senators who visited Israel to speak with Israeli leaders and families following the unprecedented Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,400 Israelis and took nearly 200 people hostage. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

In response, Israel declared war and a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip, which the militant Islamist group Hamas has controlled since 2006. Israel’s military told civilians in Gaza City to evacuate southward and has led attacks on Gaza, which have resulted in at least 2,750 people dead and more than 9,700 injured, the Gaza health ministry said Oct. 16.

Amnesty International, an impartial human rights organization, has called on Hamas to release hostages, Israel to allow basic necessities to enter Gaza, and for both Israel and Palestinian armed groups to take “all feasible precautions to spare civilians.”

Rosen, co-founder and co-chair of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism and the Abraham Accords caucus, said Thursday that as with any war, “we always have to do everything we can to protect innocent people” and to provide humanitarian aid. She said the United States and Israel are trying to do just that.

Humanitarian assistance

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that the U.S. will provide $100 million in humanitarian assistance for Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank.

“But let’s be clear how we got here: Hamas’ premeditated, cold-blooded attack to execute, kidnap and torture civilians,” Rosen said. “And so we have to be sure that this humanitarian aid goes to the people who really need it and not into the hands of the terrorists who will use it against their own civilians or against those in Israel.”

Israel has maintained a blockade over Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. The bitter enemies have fought four wars since then.

After returning from her trip, Rosen spearheaded a resolution condemning Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel and demanding that Hamas release the 200 people being held hostage and allow for their safe return home.

“Our delegation experienced a fraction of what civilians are experiencing every single day,” she said Thursday.

The next steps are to proceed with a congressional package to protect the Israeli people and help them with their defense from terrorists, and a humanitarian aid package to help innocent Palestinian civilians, she said.

“Democrats and Republicans, both sides of the aisle, must work together to deliver support as quickly as possible,” she said.

With the House stalled in its selection of a new speaker, Rosen said the Senate is going to do its job, and that perhaps the House will soon elect a president pro-tem or a speaker and get back to work.

Delegation backs Israel

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., said he is a solid supporter of Israel, a strong ally of the United States and the only democracy in the Middle East. He said he supports the humanitarian aid package, but added that there needs to be enough guardrails and oversight on where the funds go to make sure it is not hijacked for non-humanitarian purposes. For example, diesel fuel provided through the package cannot end up in a Hamas truck with a machine gun that kills civilians, he said.

“It’s not just powdered milk and medical supplies these days,” he told the Review-Journal. “That’s the challenge. We gotta do our oversight.”

He said the U.S. also needs to replenish its own weapons stock, which has been depleted since sending supplies to Ukraine and Israel.

“Those shelves are getting pretty bare,” he said.

Other members of Nevada’s federal delegation have condemned Hamas’ terrorist attacks and have called for humanitarian aid to the region.

“Nevada stands strongly in support of Israel,” Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“It is imperative that action be taken now on the worsening humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza,” Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., who is chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said in a statement. “This conflict has left millions of people in Gaza without access to water, food, medicine and other critical resources. We cannot lose sight of the fact that there are millions of innocent Palestinians who are not responsible for the brutal attacks and atrocities of Hamas terrorists.”

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.