Hamas can’t rule Gaza, unanimous US Senate says

A unanimous U.S. Senate declared on Thursday that Hamas should no longer be allowed to exercise political or military control of the Gaza Strip.

Senators backed a bipartisan resolution led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) that was introduced last month.

The resolution also calls upon the president to “use all economic and diplomatic tools possible to halt all sources of funding for Hamas from the Islamic Republic of Iran and all other sources of revenue.”

It also supports Israel “as it continues to defend its sovereignty against attacks from Hamas, the Islamic Republic of Iran and all other Iranian proxies.”

“I am very pleased the entire U.S. Senate spoke with moral clarity when it comes to the barbaric terrorist organization called Hamas,” Graham stated. “With one voice, the Senate said Hamas cannot be in charge of Gaza militarily or politically ever again. That is the right and only answer. I am very proud of my Senate colleagues.”

Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) also sponsored the bill.

“Hamas is an anathema—to Palestinians and Israelis alike, indeed to all who live in the region,” stated Blumenthal, the lead Democratic sponsor. “Their barbarity and inhumanity is a terrorist scourge, demonstrated most tragically in the Oct. 7 massacre, and a major barrier to peace and stability.”

“Eliminating Hamas ought to be common ground as a paramount goal,” he added.

Hamas continues to hold hostages captured in the Oct. 7 attacks against Israel that also killed 1,200 people. A ceasefire has so far halted fighting in the Gaza Strip, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is seeking to extend its first phase.

Israel has agreed to a proposal by Witkoff to extend the current ceasefire through Ramadan and Passover, but Hamas rejected it.

Witkoff said earlier this month that Hamas should free American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander as a show of goodwill. Alexander, 20, of Tenafly, N.J., is the only one of five hostages with both American and Israeli citizenship believed to still be alive.

On Friday, Hamas stated that it would release Alexander and the bodies of four dual citizens. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office rejected the gesture, accusing the terrorist group of continuing to “employ manipulation and psychological warfare.”