Turning point? After deadly strikes on aid convoy, Democrats push Biden to put conditions on military help for Israel

WASHINGTON — The Israeli airstrikes that claimed the lives of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers have stunned and outraged Democrats in Congress, fueling a fresh effort by lawmakers to push President Joe Biden to impose conditions on U.S. military aid to Israel.

Frustration has been mounting for months among Democrats in Congress over how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has carried out its military offensive in the Gaza Strip and the dire humanitarian conditions faced by Palestinian civilians. But Monday’s lethal strikes on a World Central Kitchen team jolted many lawmakers and their aides, who say the attack could serve as a defining moment for America’s approach to the war in Gaza and U.S. relations with Israel.

“This week could be a turning point,” one congressional official said.

Democratic Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont told NBC News that the attack on the aid convoy is “an indication that there has been no modification of the Netanyahu war plan” and “it’s creating increasing concern among more and more of my colleagues.”

Even lawmakers who initially refrained from sharply criticizing Israel over its tactics in Gaza have joined calls for a cease-fire or warned Netanyahu’s government not to enter the southern city of Rafah without a plan to safeguard the lives of its civilian population.

Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, a close Biden ally and a longtime supporter of Israel, came out for the first time Thursday in favor of placing conditions on U.S. arms shipments to Israel if civilians are not protected in Rafah.

“If Benjamin Netanyahu were to order the IDF into Rafah at scale ... and make no provision for civilians or for humanitarian aid, I would vote to condition aid to Israel,” he