The Republican-led House last week approved the money for Israel, but that bill is dead on arrival in the Senate because it also includes domestic spending cuts and omits help from Ukraine. The Senate has not yet taken up an alternative.
The senators did not threaten to withhold their support for aid to Israel, but their pointed requests for more information and accountability over the weapons they will be asked to approve were further evidence of a shift in tone among Democrats on the war. It has paralleled one by Mr. Biden himself, who has pivoted to being more critical of Israel’s response to the attack by Hamas — in which more than 1,400 people were killed and hundreds were taken hostage — which has caused mounting casualties and prompted a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The senators drew a distinction between defensive aid for Israel, for which they expressed unequivocal support, and military assistance that would go toward furthering Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip, about which they raised significant questions.
“We believe the United States should immediately provide Israel with the funding it needs to replenish its defensive systems, including Iron Dome and other air defense capabilities,” the group wrote. “But to better understand the efficacy of U.S. funding that supports Israel’s operations inside Gaza, we respectfully ask your team to provide us with information relative to these two clear U.S. priorities: supporting an Israeli strategy that will effectively degrade and defeat the threat from Hamas and taking all possible measures to protect civilians in Gaza.”
The senators said that they were invested in Israel’s success, and that their concerns were rooted in a desire to see Israel avoid the sort of strategic blunders that might worsen its long-term security.
“The attacks of Oct. 7 brought back chilling memories of the United States’ own confrontation with terror 22 years ago,” they wrote. They encouraged Israel to “learn from the mistakes the United States made in our fight against terrorism by focusing on realistic and achievable military goals, and abide by the laws of war, including the protection of civilians.”
The Senate Democrats’ letter also comes amid mounting pressure from the party’s left wing, where lawmakers and activists have been agitating for a cease-fire and condemning Mr. Biden for abetting what they charge is a genocide of Palestinians. Genocide is defined under international law as a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, whether in wartime or peacetime. Israel’s leaders have said they are targeting Hamas, not Palestinian civilians.
The House on Tuesday night censured Representative Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan and the only Palestinian American in Congress, for her harsh criticism of Israel and suggestion that its policies prompted the Hamas attack and her embrace of a pro-Palestinian slogan that many regard as calling for the destruction of Israel. She used the debate of the resolution to plead for sympathy for the plight of the Palestinian people.
In the letter, Senate Democrats asked for information about “what specific mechanisms you are putting in place to ensure that Israeli military operations conducted inside Gaza are carried out in accordance with international humanitarian law and to ensure that any U.S.-provided equipment is used in a manner consistent with U.S. law.” They specifically requested an assessment of whether Israel’s military rules of engagement, particularly regarding mitigating civilian casualties, are in line with U.S. policy and practice.
White House officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the letter.
Mr. Biden and his top deputies have repeatedly stated that the United States stands shoulder to shoulder with Israel as it tries to eradicate the threat from Hamas. But in recent weeks, he and top administration officials have spent ample time stressing the importance of protecting Palestinian civilians caught in the crossfire, urging Israeli leaders to commit to humanitarian pauses in order to facilitate deliveries of food, water and fuel to beleaguered Gaza residents prohibited from leaving the Strip to escape the fighting.
Many of the letter’s signatories have been vocal about urging the administration to prioritize the protection of Palestinian civilians, both in Gaza and the West Bank, where dozens have been killed by settler violence since the start of the war. In the letter, they ask Mr. Biden to obtain public assurances from both Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president with authority over the West Bank, to quell violent attacks against each others’ people.
The signatories are a cross-section of Senate Democrats who have taken varying positions on the conflict in recent days. Mr. Durbin is the only one who has endorsed calls for a cease-fire under certain conditions, including Hamas first agreeing to release all hostages in its custody. Also signing on to the letter were two independent senators, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine.
