As Israel races to erase Gaza, effort emerges to block US arms sales

Washington, DC — Before Aya Z Shawwa, in her late 60s, fled Gaza for Egypt in April, she witnessed the horror of war as Israeli bombs flattened her relatives’ homes in Khan Younis city. The February bombardment killed 35 members of her close and extended family.

Residents digging through the debris of mangled steel and pulverised cement found bodies — some entirely bloodied, many with severed limbs, and others crushed beneath the weight of tonnes of concrete.

"Israel destroyed their houses above their heads," Shawwa tells TRT World in a phone interview from Egypt. "From elders, youngsters, and women to children from my brother’s family and his children and grandchildren, Israel spared nobody."

In its genocidal war against the besieged Palestinians in Gaza since October last year, Israel has extensively used and tested US-supplied weapons. These include the less accurate dumb bombs, bunker busters that penetrate hardened structures before exploding, cluster bombs, JDAMs, and even highly combustible white phosphorus.

The US has also provided Israel with thousands of guided bombs, missiles, fighter jets, attack helicopters, and drones, which have been used in the war that has killed nearly 44,000 Palestinians, wounded over 100,000, destroyed homes and hospitals, and displaced most of Gaza's 2.4 million residents. Analysts argue this is just a conservative estimate and the accurate death toll could be higher.

Now, with Tel Aviv extending its aggression into Lebanon, and both US Presidential Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump opposing arms embargo on Israel, American Senator Bernie Sanders plans to introduce Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRD) that would block the sale of certain offensive US weapons to Israel. The JRD is the only mechanism available to US Congress to prevent an arms sale from advancing.

"There is no longer any doubt that Netanyahu’s extremist government is in clear violation of US and international law as it wages a barbaric war against the Palestinian people in Gaza," Sanders said in a powerful statement on Wednesday.

He said Israel has conducted its war on besieged Gaza almost entirely with American weapons and $18 billion in US taxpayer dollars.

"Israel has dropped US-provided 2,000-pound bombs into crowded neighbourhoods, killed hundreds of civilians to take out a handful of Hamas fighters, and made little effort to distinguish between civilians and combatants. These actions are immoral and illegal," he said.

Sanders added the US cannot continue to be complicit in Israel’s war by supplying more military aid and weaponry to the Netanyahu regime, urging Congress to act immediately to block the arms sales.

100 organisations urge Senators to act

Over 100 organisations have backed Sanders' efforts.

One of them is Code Pink, an anti-war American organisation which has been at the forefront of pro-Palestine protests across the country.

"This is the biggest legislative action that would be taken against Israel," Code Pink told TRT World.

If Sanders' resolutions pass, the organisation said, "it would set a precedent for the US’ relationship with Israel that encourages accountability rather than an endless stream of weapons despite Israel's violations of international law."

The four joint resolutions of disapproval were unveiled on September 25 by Sanders, Peter Welch and Jeff Merkley.

Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, the US has provided unlimited support to Israel —financially, militarily and politically. Numerous reports document Israel’s use of US weapons in ways that violate both international and US laws.

According to Reuters news agency, US State Department officials have identified nearly 500 potential incidents of civilian harm in Gaza involving US-furnished weapons but have not taken action on any of them.

On October 15, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a warning to Israeli former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, giving Israel 30 days to improve Gaza’s humanitarian situation or risk straining ties with the US.

Despite evidence that Israel continues to block aid, the US says there will be no consequences.

The US senators’ decision could ease Palestinians’ suffering, but until that happens, people such as Shawwa and their families continue to pay for Israel’s crimes being perpetuated using American bombs with their lives.

"We have endured and seen the massacres and crimes committed by the enemy (Israel)," Shawwa tells TRT World. "Our hearts have been grieving since the beginning of the war."