Sen. Mark Kelly travels to Israel as conflict in Gaza intensifies
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Sen. Mark Kelly is part of a bipartisan congressional delegation heading to Israel to gauge that country’s needs as the country's war with Hamas in Gaza intensifies.
The visit comes at a fraught moment, with Israeli forces gathered outside Gaza for urban combat, about 150 hostages still unaccounted for and more than 1 million Palestinians told to evacuate with no clear place to go.
Kelly, D-Ariz., is traveling with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La.; Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.; and Mitt Romney, R-Utah.
In the week since Hamas militants launched a surprise attack inside southern Israel that killed 1,300 troops and civilians, the U.S. government has sought to project unified support for Israelis, even as domestic political turmoil in Washington has made it unclear what broader role it can play.
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A Schumer spokesperson told Punchbowl News that the delegation in Israel “will meet with the new unity government including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, as well as President Isaac Herzog.”
For the moment, the White House has signaled it plans to seek approval of emergency aid for Israel, Ukraine and the U.S. southern border.
That request faces an uncertain future as many Republicans have bristled at additional funds for Ukraine in its war with Russia, and with the House of Representatives effectively unable to settle on choices since a handful of Republicans voted with Democrats to depose former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., with no permanent successor named.
Details of the Israeli visit were still being worked out.
For Kelly, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the trip is the third time this year he has traveled to an international hot spot.
Earlier this year, Kelly went to Taiwan and met with that island’s president in New York. Tensions with mainland China and its plans for Taiwan have only grown as Beijing’s relations with Washington have deteriorated in recent years.
Kelly also made two trips to Ukraine to assess conditions there since the Russian invasion in 2022.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sen. Mark Kelly travels to Israel as fighting in Gaza intensifies
