U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders
on Wednesday called Israel's total siege of the Gaza Strip a breach of
international law and urged the Biden administration to work with the
global community to bring about an end to the escalating violence, which
has already taken a grisly toll on civilians in Israel and the occupied
Palestinian territory.
"For many, it is no secret that Gaza has been an open-air prison, with
millions of people struggling to secure basic necessities," Sanders
(I-Vt.) said in a statement. "Hamas' terrorism will make it much more
difficult to address that tragic reality and will embolden extremists on
both sides, continuing the cycle of violence."
The senator added that while he welcomes the Biden administration's
offer of "solidarity and support to Israel" in the wake of Hamas' deadly
attack, "we must also insist on restraint from Israeli forces attacking
Gaza and work to secure U.N. humanitarian access."
"Let us not forget that half of the 2 million people in Gaza are
children," said Sanders. "Children and innocent people do not deserve to
be punished for the acts of Hamas."
Hundreds of children
and more than 1,000 people overall have been killed by Israeli
airstrikes that began raining down on the densely populated Gaza Strip
on Saturday after Hamas gunmen broke through Israel's
border structure and massacred hundreds of civilians.
UNICEF
warned earlier this week that Israel's decision
to cut off the electricity supply to Gaza and block food, water, and
fuel from entering the enclave in response to the Hamas attack "may put
the lives of children at risk."
On Wednesday, Gaza's last operational power plant
shut down due to a lack of fuel, forcing increasingly overwhelmed hospitals to rely on generators. Gazan authorities said the situation on the ground is quickly spiraling into a "humanitarian catastrophe."
Sanders said Wednesday that the focus of the international community
should be on "reducing humanitarian suffering and protecting innocent
people on both sides of this conflict" as Israel prepares for a ground
invasion of Gaza and continues its bombing campaign, leveling entire
neighborhoods and damaging schools, medical facilities, and other
civilian infrastructure.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed that American weaponry
is headed to Israel and did not call for a cease-fire, unlike a
growing number
of U.S. lawmakers and government officials around the world. Biden also
did not mention the Israeli blockade, which Sanders described as "a
serious violation of international law" that "will do nothing but harm
innocent civilians."
"The targeting of civilians is a war crime, no matter who does it," Sanders said.