Anger has escalated among prominent politicians in Washington, most of them from the Democratic Party, towards the administration of US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing them of causing a disaster in the Gaza Strip.

Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley said that the United States is complicit in the famine and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, and it is the one who has the influence to address the situation there and the world expects it to do so.

Merkley added that it is unacceptable for the United States to rely on the aid system established by Israel, calling on the American administration to bypass Israel and provide aid to Gaza directly.

For her part, Democratic Senator Patty Murray said that the continuation of the war by Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government is an undoubted strategic failure.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, in turn, said that Netanyahu and his right-wing government had caused a disaster in Gaza.

Warren called on President Biden's administration to press for an immediate ceasefire and return the hostages, and to link its military support for Israel to the pursuit of a two-state solution to achieve lasting peace.

For his part, Democratic Senator Angus King called on the White House to send a medical ship from the US Navy to alleviate the suffering in Gaza, in the wake of what was called the “flour massacre” in the northern Gaza Strip, which caused the death and injury of hundreds, most of whom sustained critical wounds.

Floating military hospital

In this context, Jack Reed, Chairman of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, called on President Biden to send a floating military hospital to help the residents of Gaza in the wake of the new Israeli massacre.

More than 100 Palestinians were martyred and about 800 others were injured when the Israeli occupation forces targeted them at dawn yesterday, Thursday, while they were gathering to obtain aid at the Nabulsi roundabout in the northern Gaza Strip.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said that the Biden administration must make every effort to temporarily stop Israel's military operation as soon as possible, while the US President said that "the aid incident will complicate negotiations regarding the hostages."

In the same regard, independent US Senator Bernie Sanders said that Israeli soldiers opened fire on those trying to get food instead of bringing in aid.

He called on the United States to intervene immediately and provide aid directly to those in need in Gaza, saying that hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children in the Strip are on the brink of starvation, and that the United States cannot continue to fund Netanyahu’s war machine.

Source: Al Jazeera