A group of Republican senators have introduced legislation that would help resupply resources to Israel’s Iron Dome amid the country’s war with Hamas.
The Emergency Resupply for Iron Dome Act of 2023 would require the executive branch to redirect U.S. foreign assistance from Gaza, the Palestinian territory controlled by Hamas, to resupply Israel’s Iron Dome.
The Iron Dome is Israel’s air defense system, which defends it from rocket fire. Hamas has been firing rockets at Israel since it’s bloody assault on that country earlier this month, even as Israel has pounded Gaza with aerial attacks in response.
The bill was introduced by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.). The bill’s co-sponsors include Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.).
“In the wake of Iran-backed Hamas’s savage attack on Israel in which over 1,300 people in Israel were murdered, including 30 Americans, and as Iran-backed Hamas terrorists continue to launch missiles and rockets into Israel, the American people have seen the images of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense systems repeatedly intercepting rockets and saving the lives of countless civilians,” Hagerty said in a statement.
“My legislation requires the Biden Administration to halt U.S. foreign assistance from going to Hamas terrorist-dominated areas and instead to redirect these resources to help Israel resupply its life-saving Iron Dome interceptors. The United States should unequivocally support the right of Israel to defend itself from terrorists.”
The siege of Gaza has cut off the more than 2 million people who live there from basic life necessities, raising alarms of a humanitarian disaster.
The Biden administration has backed Israel’s efforts to defend itself even as it has urged Israel to try to prevent civilian deaths.
President Biden has also drawn a sharp distinction between Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group, and the Palestinian people.
This is not the first time GOP senators have offered a bill to shift aid away from Gaza. Hagerty announced a similar bill in 2021.