[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 1, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S3099]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Israel

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, adults are suffering and children are 
starving to death in Gaza. That is a fact. It has been that way for 
weeks, if not months. Part of the problem, obviously, is it is a war 
zone. Because of that, many of the people, innocent civilians, have 
been caught up in the throes of conflict and have died as a result of 
it.
  In an ordinary time, there are approximately 500 truckloads a day 
shipped into Gaza--500. In this time of war, an attack by Israel on 
Hamas in Gaza, the number has been reduced to 200--200--because the 
ports of entry have been closed by the Israelis for security purposes. 
Closing them means less food, medicine, and water is available for the 
people living in Gaza. They suffer and they die, particularly the 
children.
  There has been an effort underway for months to persuade the Israelis 
to allow more of the basics of human life to enter Gaza, but the 
Israelis have resisted that suggestion for the most part. What have we 
done in response? Well, we have decided, through President Biden, to 
have an extraordinary effort--a landing area where trucks can be 
brought into Gaza from the sea, from an oceangoing vessel, and make 
things available to the people who live there. It is a life-and-death 
mission, and for us to walk away from it at this point would be not 
only foolhardy but cruel--cruel.
  The notion, the argument that was just stated on the floor that Hamas 
is infiltrating these supplies and taking them for their own purpose 
has no evidence in fact--none. Over and over again, in phone calls 
which I have been part of to United Nations personnel on the ground, 
they assure us there is no evidence of that whatsoever.
  So this humanitarian effort by the United States, by President Biden, 
is not only appropriate, but it is absolutely necessary. It is an 
emergency situation. I commend the administration for their actions in 
trying to feed these people in Gaza as they sit in a war zone and watch 
their children die, hospitals close, and the homes they had totally 
destroyed.
  Let's do this and show them we as Americans really do care. We are 
not supplying terrorists; we are trying to supply children--children 
who are starving to death in Gaza. I thank President Biden for his 
leadership.