U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) visited the Kerem Shalom crossing on Thursday, where he was given a comprehensive briefing on the inspection and coordination process used to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. During the visit, he stressed the need to provide relief to civilians while preventing resources from strengthening Hamas.
“I visited the Kerem Shalom crossing and was briefed regarding the system in place to clear trucks to provide aid to Gaza. The goal is to feed the people of Gaza and not to empower Hamas,” Graham stated following the tour. “There have been episodes of cigarettes and other banned items included in shipments that allow Hamas to continue to make money on the black market. To some extent this is inevitable as all are operating under difficult circumstances.”
Graham dismissed claims that Israel is purposely using aid as a weapon or attempting to starve Gaza’s population.
“However, I want to make it clear I have never bought into the narrative that Israel is intentionally starving the people of Gaza as a tool of war. I blame Hamas for all the problems associated with the attack of October 7 and its aftermath,” he said.
The Senator also voiced his belief that Israel is cooperating with international relief organizations to ensure aid reaches those who need it.
“I do expect Israel to work with international organizations and I believe that they are,” he added.
As part of his visit, Graham toured a facility run by the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF), an American-backed program focused on supplying food to civilians. He commended the work being done by GHF and its partners, including Samaritan’s Purse, led by Reverend Franklin Graham.
“I also visited a site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF), a food delivery system supported by the American government, and was impressed by what I saw. Samaritan’s Purse, Reverend Franklin Graham’s organization, is assisting GHF with food packages. I also support the World Food Program and many other organizations who are trying to provide humanitarian aid,” Graham said.
He highlighted that the GHF initiative had originally been supported by the Trump Administration and called for ongoing bipartisan backing to ensure its success.
“Supporting GHF was a decision made by the American government through the Trump Administration and I hope that decision will be respected. I’m not interested in engaging in efforts to tear one group down over the other. I found the accusations made against GHF not to be credible and I appreciate all they have done under difficult circumstances,” he concluded.
{Matzav.com}
