[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 175 (Tuesday, October 24, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5127]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Israel

  Mr. President, on a related matter, in the coming days and weeks, the 
Senate will work urgently to address several major, related threats to 
the American people, to our allies, and our interests at home and 
abroad.
  After Russia's escalation against Ukraine last year, the savage Iran-
backed terrorist attacks on Israel, once again, reminded the civilized 
world of the persistent evil that demands our attention and our action.
  The United States must stand with our ally Israel for as long as it 
takes to restore its security, and we have a responsibility not to look 
away from the brutality and inhumanity the terrorists inflicted on 
innocent Israeli men, women, and children.
  Unfortunately, our own Western media haven't made that task any 
easier. Some of the most disturbing firsthand accounts reported the 
savages responsible for the October 7 attacks had beheaded Israeli 
infants and committed other unspeakable atrocities. Some in the press 
leapt to express skepticism and even discredit the reports of 
eyewitnesses. But these sickening accounts were proven to be true.
  In an especially reckless example, America's ``paper of record'' took 
the word of Gaza's terrorist overlords and actually announced to the 
world that an apparent explosion at a hospital had been an Israeli 
strike that killed hundreds of people.
  We know now it was the terrorists themselves whose rockets struck the 
Palestinian civilian target. But as the saying goes, this dangerous lie 
had traveled around the world before truth had literally laced up its 
shoes.
  Perhaps the corporate media organizations that have spent years 
warning about disinformation should exercise a bit more caution with 
the claims of a terrorist organization that uses civilians as human 
shields.
  So let us get a few things straight. There is a humanitarian crisis 
in Gaza. People are suffering. But the blame for their suffering 
belongs solely to the terrorists who divert humanitarian and economic 
assistance and build terror tunnels and rocket launchers instead. And 
the solution is not to use the same corrupted mechanisms to allow Hamas 
to further exploit this crisis of its own making.
  The Israeli Government's stated intention is to destroy Hamas's 
capacity to wage war and end the stranglehold of Gaza.
  And the West has every reason to expect that Israel will hold 
itself--as it always does--to the highest standards of humane conduct. 
But make no mistake, war is hell. This will be a difficult, bloody, and 
costly fight. And we know Hamas's propaganda machine will do everything 
possible to exploit every inadvertent civilian casualty.
  There can be no moral equivalence between terrorism and self-defense. 
The President must give Israel the time and space it needs to achieve 
its military objectives in Gaza. America should assist Israel with any 
intelligence, planning, and resources their military requires. This 
includes coordinating closely with Israel to ensure new channels for 
international humanitarian assistance and prevent Hamas from again 
expropriating it.
  Hamas is Israel's primary focus, but it is clear that Iran's 
Hezbollah proxies in Syria and Lebanon are toeing up to the line.
  Israel has responded quickly and decisively to repeated attacks from 
Lebanon in recent weeks, and the United States and other Israeli 
partners should make clear that Hezbollah and Iran will face 
devastating consequences if they escalate the situation.
  Unfortunately, terrorists have also escalated their attacks on 
American forces in the region. Reports indicate multiple attacks in 
recent days in Iraq and in Syria. As one U.S. official put it, there 
are ``red lights flashing everywhere.''
  Deterrence has failed, and the United States must restore it before 
Iran-backed terrorists kill Americans. We must strike back hard at 
anyone who targets U.S. personnel.
  More broadly, it is time for President Biden to close the book on his 
failed Iran policy. It is past time to work with Republicans to craft a 
bipartisan Iran strategy that will actually outlive this 
administration, unite America's allies, and counter the full range of 
threats Iran poses to the region and to the world. This has to include 
confronting Iran's role as the world's most active state sponsor of 
terror. We ignore this growing threat at our own peril.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHATZ. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Butler). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.