Sen. Murphy calls on government to send food aid to Gaza

Sen. Chris Murphy has joined seven of his progressive colleagues in calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator (USAID) for the immediate release of food aid for Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

Murphy, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism, noted that more than half of Gaza’s population was food insecure before Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel. In a press statement, the Connecticut Democrat said that since the new Middle East war began, “Israel’s limitation of aid trucks has put civilian Palestinians at risk of starvation.”

“Though the United States has provided financial assistance for humanitarian relief in Gaza and the West Bank, additional aid is necessary to address the intensifying food emergency faced by Palestinians in Gaza,” wrote Murphy and his fellow senators in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack and USAID Administrator Samantha Power. “We should do all we can to alleviate that burden. We strongly urge you to utilize the [Bill Emerson Humanitarian] Trust and other available resources to save the lives of Palestinian citizens during this unprecedented time.”

Murphy was joined by Sens. Peter Welch (D-VT) Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).