Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday rebuked Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for accusing Israel of committing a “war crime” via its policy on humanitarian aid to Gaza, calling the senator’s claim both false and ignorant.
Responding to a post that Sanders published Monday on X—where the senator alleged that “no humanitarian aid has entered Gaza” for 51 days and quoted Katz out of context—Katz wrote: “Contrary to the senator’s statement, Israel is acting in full accordance with international law.”
“The humanitarian condition in Gaza is constantly monitored and large quantities of aid were delivered,” the defense minister stated, adding that aid must be prevented from falling into the hands of Hamas, which he said “exploits humanitarian aid to maintain control over the civilian population and to profit at their expense—profits that fund and sustain terror infrastructure used to target IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians.”
Katz emphasized the need for the international community to ensure that aid bypasses the terror group, and reaches civilians in the Strip directly and securely.
“It is unfortunate that the honorable Senator has learned nothing from the lessons of Oct. 7 and the atrocities committed by Hamas against Israeli citizens and the Jewish people,” Katz continued, referencing the murder of the Bibas children while in Hamas captivity, “simply because they were Jewish.”
He concluded by reaffirming Israel’s obligation to prevent a repeat of such horrors and expressing gratitude to the United States for supporting Israel’s right to self-defense “in the face of the hypocrisy of some international bodies.”
Sanders has repeatedly criticized Israel’s war against Hamas and has led calls in Congress to condition U.S. military aid to the Jewish state.