Sen. Bernie Sanders and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Getty Images)
It’s not the first time Sanders has pushed to block arms sales or military aid to the Jewish state. Since December 2023, just months after the conflict between Israel and Hamas began, the lawmaker has either introduced or forced votes on resolutions five times, each intended to block military aid and billions of dollars in munitions and arms.
His latest attempt comes after photos revealed starving children in Gaza, which he squarely blamed on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., right, speaks as Senate Majority Whip Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., listens during a news briefing after the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol July 22, 2025, in Washington. (Getty Images/Alex Wong)
Earlier this week, 40 Senate Democrats wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and called on the administration to push for "a large-scale expansion of humanitarian assistance and services throughout the Gaza Strip."
Senate Republicans have largely blamed the reported conditions in Gaza on Hamas, with some calling for more food aid making its way into the Gaza Strip. President Donald Trump vowed that more food centers, administered by Israel, would be coming.
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he shared Trump’s view and that there was a desire to "meet that need and alleviate that pain."
"But you got to understand, too, that when you got a terrorist group like Hamas operating in that region, they intercept and divert a lot of that food aid that's going in there," he said. "That's the challenge that the Israelis have. That’s the challenge that we have and other nations around the world."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bernie-sanders-force-senate-vote-blocking-arms-sales-israel