U.S. Sen. Angus King called Monday for an end to all U.S. support for Israel as long as there are “starving children in Gaza” due to the actions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
The declaration from King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, came after more reports and photos of dead and malnourished children in Palestine spread over the weekend as Israel continued to bomb Gaza in a war that broke out 21 months ago.
King’s stance puts him roughly in line with U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat from Maine’s 1st District who called last year for a suspension of military aid to Israel. She has long stood out from the rest of Maine’s delegation on the issue. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a 2nd District Democrat, are stalwart Israel supporters.
The latest round of Israeli strikes on Monday killed at least 36 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, including a pregnant woman and her newborn child. President Donald Trump disagreed Monday with Netanyahu’s claim that there is “no starvation” in Gaza. Israel announced over the weekend it would pause fighting in three areas for 10 hours a day to allow more aid into Gaza.
But aid agencies and the U.N. have continued to warn all of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents are severely food insecure, with Gaza’s health ministry reporting nearly 150 deaths due to starvation since Hamas launched the war by attacking Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
King, who along with Pingree skipped Netanyahu’s speech to Congress last year, said in a Monday statement he in “no way” condones the actions of Hamas, but “recent events have placed a moral burden on Israel to ameliorate the current crisis, a burden it has thus far totally failed to meet.”
“My litmus test will be simple: no aid of any kind as long as there are starving children in Gaza due to the action or inaction of the Israeli government,” King said.
Pingree echoed King’s call later Monday, saying in a statement that she will support no more aid to Israel until it reverses course “by releasing aid, by agreeing to an immediate ceasefire and by committing to a future where Israelis and Palestinians are both able to live with the freedom and dignity they deserve.”
Congress is controlled by Republicans who have long backed Israel, making it unlikely that proposals to end U.S. support would have the votes to pass. Hamas sparked the war with a surprise attack that left about 1,200 dead and 250 abducted, and Israel responded with a relentless air and ground campaign that has killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians, according to a count from Gaza’s health ministry that does not distinguish between civilians and militants but is viewed by the U.N. as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
A U.S.-backed aid delivery system that began in May has faced chaos and reports of its contractors firing on Palestinians. Long-term ceasefire efforts have not yet come to fruition. Israel and U.S. pulled negotiating teams Friday from talks while blaming Hamas for the breakdown. Israel said it would end the war if Hamas agrees to surrender and go into exile, which the militant group that has controlled Gaza for nearly 20 years has refused to agree to.
Trump told reporters he advised Netanyahu over the weekend that “you have to now maybe do it a different way” while criticizing Hamas for not yet releasing 50 remaining hostages, roughly half of whom Israel believes are dead.
“I cannot defend the indefensible,” King said Monday. “Israel’s actions in the conduct of the war in Gaza, especially its failure to address the unimaginable humanitarian crisis now unfolding, is an affront to human decency.”