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Floor Speech
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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, adults are suffering and children are starving to death in Gaza. That is a fact. It has been that way for weeks, if not months. Part of the problem, obviously, is it is a war zone. Because of that, many of the people, innocent civilians, have been caught up in the throes of conflict and have died as a result of it.
In an ordinary time, there are approximately 500 truckloads a day shipped into Gaza--500. In this time of war, an attack by Israel on Hamas in Gaza, the number has been reduced to 200--200--because the ports of entry have been closed by the Israelis for security purposes. Closing them means less food, medicine, and water is available for the people living in Gaza. They suffer and they die, particularly the children.
There has been an effort underway for months to persuade the Israelis to allow more of the basics of human life to enter Gaza, but the Israelis have resisted that suggestion for the most part. What have we done in response? Well, we have decided, through President Biden, to have an extraordinary effort--a landing area where trucks can be brought into Gaza from the sea, from an oceangoing vessel, and make things available to the people who live there. It is a life-and-death mission, and for us to walk away from it at this point would be not only foolhardy but cruel--cruel.
The notion, the argument that was just stated on the floor that Hamas is infiltrating these supplies and taking them for their own purpose has no evidence in fact--none. Over and over again, in phone calls which I have been part of to United Nations personnel on the ground, they assure us there is no evidence of that whatsoever.
So this humanitarian effort by the United States, by President Biden, is not only appropriate, but it is absolutely necessary. It is an emergency situation. I commend the administration for their actions in trying to feed these people in Gaza as they sit in a war zone and watch their children die, hospitals close, and the homes they had totally destroyed.
Let's do this and show them we as Americans really do care. We are not supplying terrorists; we are trying to supply children--children who are starving to death in Gaza. I thank President Biden for his leadership.
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