Israel’s war against Hamas is just, but it must be fought justly

As Americans, we remember the collective anguish we experienced after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. We are also acutely aware of the unintended consequences of strategic overreach stemming from shared anger and pain. These were important lessons — lessons that apply today. How Israel prosecutes this war matters and will impact not only Israel’s security but also the future of the entire region.

As Israel’s closest friend and security partner, the United States has a strong interest in making certain Israel’s response prioritizes securing the return of all hostages and ensuring Hamas no longer poses a military threat. We also have an obligation to the American people to ensure our support is consistent with our interests and values — and in line with U.S. and international humanitarian law.

The war to end Hamas’s control of Gaza is just, but it must be fought justly.

That’s why I’m calling upon President Biden to require more accountability from the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. He should insist the prime minister produce a verifiable plan to reduce the unacceptable level of civilian casualties and fully cooperate with our efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza.

Until then, the United States should not support the current resumption of hostilities.

The president has asked Congress for an additional $106 billion for national security, including assistance for Israel, Ukraine and some of our Indo-Pacific allies. As the Senate takes up this request, I’m working with a group of my colleagues on an amendment that would require that the weapons received by any country under this bill are used in accordance with U.S. law, international humanitarian law and the law of armed conflict.

The amendment would also require the president to report to Congress whether countries receiving military equipment paid for by American taxpayers meet that test and whether the use of U.S.-supplied weapons comports with established presidential directives on arms transfers and Defense Department policies for reducing harm to civilians. And it would buttress current law that prohibits U.S. security assistance to any country that prevents or restricts U.S. humanitarian assistance to those in need, subject to a presidential waiver.

It is essential, for both moral and strategic reasons, that Israel distinguish between Hamas and the more than 2 million Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, half of them children, who have nothing to do with Hamas. As the Netanyahu coalition faces pressure from within, including from far-right extremist elements led by Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, it is our duty to press for this distinction and ensure accountability. These pressures have been demonstrated both by troubling statements from members of the Netanyahu government conflating all Palestinians with Hamas and by its refusal to take meaningful action to stop extremist settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The fact that Hamas uses the despicable practice of hiding among the population does not absolve the Netanyahu government of its responsibility to take all necessary measures to reduce harm to civilians. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently cautioned Israel against excessive civilian casualties, saying, “If you drive them into the arms of the enemy, you replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat.”

In just eight weeks of war, we have witnessed a massive level of death, destruction and displacement.

More than 16,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, more than two-thirds of them women and children — 10 times more children killed than in nearly two years of war in Ukraine. More than 1.8 million people in Gaza, or nearly 80 percent of the population, have been displaced.

And the near-total siege of Gaza has left millions cut off from adequate supplies of water, food and medicine as well as electricity and fuel. The Netanyahu government has allowed only a trickle of aid into Gaza, including little to none through the Kerem Shalom crossing — the main entry point for goods and truck traffic before this war.

Over the past month, President Biden has rightfully prioritized the return of hostages — which we should continue to do — and his leadership resulted in a seven-day humanitarian pause, allowing the return of more than 100 hostages from Gaza and the influx of some desperately needed humanitarian supplies.

But with the pause over, the Netanyahu government has moved forward with its plan for a full air and ground offensive against Khan Younis, the second largest city in the Gaza Strip, which has doubled in population as Palestinians displaced from the north have fled south.

As the war resumes, we’re at a critical juncture.

Visiting Israel last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that he “made clear the imperative before any operations go forward in southern Gaza there’ll be a clear plan in place that puts a premium on protecting civilians as well as sustaining and building on humanitarian assistance.”

“Imperative” is a strong word. When strong words are not matched by strong actions, the United States looks feckless. Within hours of Blinken’s statement, the temporary pause ended and Israeli airstrikes killed more than 170 people. Since then, over 1,200 people have been killed. In addition, the city of Rafah on the Egyptian border has been bombed, and the delivery of humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing has slowed to a crawl.

The United States is not a bystander here. Israel is the largest annual recipient of U.S. security assistance, totaling more than $39 billion over the past 10 years alone. And right now, American-made and paid-for bombs and artillery are being used in Gaza. The U.S. government has an obligation to the American people to ensure that our tax dollars are used in a manner that aligns with our interests and values. No foreign government should be exempt from that principle, not even a close friend and partner such as Israel.

Ensuring these standards are upheld — and providing the mechanisms to monitor them — should not be controversial. It is in our strategic best interest and in the best interest of Israel and all our partners. Even during this bleak time in Israel and Gaza, we must keep one eye on the future and the need to not only prevent a regional war that could burn for more than a decade but also to advance a political solution to enable millions of Israelis and Palestinians living side by side to do so in peace and dignity. How that future unfolds will depend on how the war in Gaza proceeds — and how it ends. As Israel’s closest friend, we have an outsize role to play in that story.