Senator Murray, Colleagues Call For Fuel Deliveries to Hospitals and Water Treatment Centers in Gaza

Washington DC - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, joined U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism, and 23 of their Senate colleagues in releasing the following statement calling for fuel to reach Gaza hospitals, desalination plants, and water pumping stations to prevent the loss of innocent life. Fuel shortages in Gaza threaten to halt the aid distribution system, shut down hospitals, and worsen the water crisis in Gaza in the coming days.

“We condemn Hamas’ horrific terrorist attacks against Israel, for which Israel must hold Hamas accountable. In the course of that endeavor, every effort must be made to protect innocent civilians. Right now, hospitals in Gaza are hours away from running out of fuel that powers ventilators, incubators for babies, and other lifesaving equipment, and diseases are rapidly spreading without power to treat and pump clean drinking water,” the senators said. “To prevent a potential health crisis and help save countless lives, we believe it is possible to transport fuel directly to these hospitals, desalination plants, and water pumping stations with full transparency to prevent diversion to Hamas. There are extensive oversight mechanisms in place that will track the fuel deliveries directly to the intended sites where they can be used immediately to prevent the deaths of innocent civilians, including babies and children. We encourage the Biden administration to work with our Israeli, Egyptian, and UN partners to enable these lifesaving deliveries.”

Senator Murray has joined numerous calls for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza and has urged President Biden to lead the international community in contributing to the United Nations’ emergency appeal of $294 million to address the immediate humanitarian needs in the West Bank and Gaza. Following the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, Senator Murray issued a declaración condemning the attacks and voted for the unanimous Senate resolution standing with Israel against terrorism.

In addition to Senators Murray and Murphy, the following other senators also signed onto the statement: U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tom Carper (D-DE), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

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