Democrats are finally starting to break with Israel — at least in their words

During the final hours of debate on the security supplemental package, Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland excoriated the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza. In doing so, he all but accused Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of committing international war crimes.

“Kids in Gaza are now dying from the deliberate withholding of food,” he said on the floor of the United States Senate. “In addition to the horror of that news, one other thing is true. That is a war crime.”

Van Hollen is one of only a handful of Democratic senators who supports a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. And hearing any United States senator say Israel has effectively committed war crimes is unprecedented, given widespread support for Israel across both parties.

Van Hollen joined 47 other Democratic Senators in the wee hours of Tuesday morning to vote for a national security legislative package that included $14.1bn in security assistance to Israel, along with aid to Ukraine and allies in the Indo-Pacific to push back against China. By comparison, the bill only included $9.15bn in humanitarian assistance to be split between Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine.

The words came as Israel began a military campaign in Rafah, Gaza, which the White House condemned. The same day of Van Hollen’s blistering speech, President Joe Biden said Israel “should not proceed without a credible plan.” But during a press briefing on Monday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters when asked about whether the White House would strip aid to Israel that “We're going to continue to support Israel. They have a right to defend themselves against Hamas and we're going to make sure they have the tools and the capabilities to do that.”

The White House and