
Five bipartisan Senators are urging President Trump to use economic sanctions and other diplomatic tools to cut off sources of funding for Hamas. The senators say the terrorist organization cannot retain any political or military control of the Gaza strip, as the fragile ceasefire with Israel is on the brink of collapse.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal stated: “Eliminating Hamas ought to be common ground as a paramount goal.”
Sens. Blumenthal, Jackie Rosen, Katie Britt, Tom Cotton, and Lindsey Graham, introduced the resolution which called on the president to take actions to stop Hamas’ sources of funding, specifically from Iran and Iranian proxies. The resolution also supports Israel’s defense against attacks.
Sen. Graham said in a statement: “One of the defining moments for the future of the Middle East and the world at large is to state directly and with moral clarity that Hamas – a terrorist organization – will no longer have political or military control of Gaza at the end of this conflict,”
The resolution was introduced shortly after Israel announced its ceasefire with Hamas will end if all hostages are not returned by Saturday. The ceasefire, which began January 19, required Hamas to release all remaining hostages within six weeks.
Hamas released a report on Tuesday, claiming Israel had violated the ceasefire 269 times with military operations that resulted in 26 deaths. As a result, it said it would not move forward with a scheduled hostage release on Saturday.