conflict. it was exactly that prospect that helped precipitate the hamas attack of october 7. yes, hamas is a hateful terrorist organization. it's dedicated to eradicating israel and killing jews. but the timing, the timing of the october 7 attack was very closely aligned to when a final next step in saudi-israeli reconciliation was about to move forward. they have been determined to prevent peace. there is a way forward whereby hamas may be eliminated from having any role in gaza and the west bank and in the future of the region by a regional cooperation which could be facilitated by achieving peace. and that is also much to be hoped for and worked for. senator from vermont. mr. sanders: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, some of my republican colleagues held a press conference today criticizing president biden for

his decision to stop sending additional bombs to israel due to the netanyahu government's apparent decision to launch a major military assault on rafah. the lethal aid that joe bidenah. said he wanted to provide biden objectively favors a hamas victory over israel. it's just that simple, end of quote. which sounds rather amusing, given the fact that for the last 40 years, there's probably been nobody here in washington, d.c., more strongly supportive of israel than joe biden as a senator and a president. we all know that president biden has been very clear about his opposition to an attack on rafah for many, many months, and for good reason.

an offensive -- a major military offensive in rafah would worsen an already horrendous humanitarian catastrophe in gaza. and, mr. president, i am not quite sure -- i know a little bit about politics, but i'm not quite sure who my republican colleagues think they are speaking for when they attack the president. the truth of the matter is that the american people -- republicans, democrats, independents, progressives, conservatives, moderates -- are increasingly sick and tired of the massive destruction that is now taking place in gaza. that's not bernie sanders' opinion. that's what poll after poll after poll shows. and what those polls show is that the american people want an

immediate cease-fire, and they do not want more u.s. military aid going to the war machine of the right-wing extremist netanyahu government. let me just take a second to mention a few of the polls that are out there showing where the american people are on this issue. just this week -- a few days ago -- a data for progress poll showed that 70% of voters, including majorities of democrats, republicans, and independents, support the u.s. calling for de-escalation and a cease-fire in gaza. de-escalation is not a massive assault on rafah. and a majority of voters, including 68% of democrats and 55% of independents, support suspending all u.s. arm sales to israel until it stops blocking

u.s. humanitarian aid from entering gaza. april 14, "politico" morning consult poll -- 67% of americans support the u.s. calling for a cease-fire. april 18 cbs news poll -- 60% think the u.s. should not send weapons and supplies to israel, and those are from my democratic colleagues, disproportionately among democratic supporters. an april 10 poll, "economist" -- 37% support decreasing aid to israel, just 18% support an increase. over all 63% support a cease-fire. 15% oppose. so i'm not quite sure where my republican colleagues are coming from and who they think they are representing. let me just take a moment to

tell you why the american people are opposed to more military aid to the netanyahu government. mr. president, almost 35,000 palestinians have already been killed in the seven-month war and more than 78,000 have been wounded. over two-thirds of whom are women and children. two-thirds of whom are women and children. and as we speak right now, according to humanitarian organizations, hundreds of thousands of palestinian children face the possibility of malnutrition and starvation. no, the american people do not want to see an increase in destruction in gaza. they want to see an end to this horrific war. mr. president, as i'm sure you know, the netanyahu government

has already destroyed the civilian infrastructure of gaza. there is virtually no electricity, virtually no clean water, and raw sewage is running through the streets spreading disease. mr. president, the housing infrastructure of gaza has been demolished. over 60% of the housing units have been damaged or destroyed, including 221,000 housing units that have been completely decimated, leaving more than one million people homeless, almost half the population of gaza. the health care system has been systematically annihilated. health care. at a time when you have tens of tens of thousands of people who have been injured. 26 out of 36 hospitals in gaza have been made inoperable and more than 400 health care workers have been killed. the educational system in gaza

has been virtually destroyed. every one of gaza's 12 universities have been bombed, 56 schools have been destroyed, 219 have been damaged, and 625,000 children have no access to education. and some of my republican friends think this is not enough violence, this is not enough destruction? they want netanyahu to go into rafah and kill more people, make it impossible for humanitarian aid to get out to starving people. maybe some of my republican colleagues think that's a good idea. i do not believe that the american people agree with them. mr. president, last year at this time the population of rafah was about 300,000. today it is about 1.3 million. nerd, the population -- in other words, the population has

quadrupled, quadrupled in a seven-month people with people who have been driven out of their homes throughout gaza now landing in rafah. and that is why an attack on rafah would make an unspeakable humanitarian disaster even worse. 1.3 million people, including 600,000 children, are sheltering in that area. that means there are some 50,000 people per square mile. it is enormously densely populated. this is also rafah where the vast majority of humanitarian aid is received and distributed and where most of the few remaining medical facilities are located. in other words, mr. president, at a time of massive humanitarian destruction throughout gaza, an attack on rafah would not only greatly add to the death toll, it would severely hinder the ability of

humanitarian aid to get through to desperate and starving people. mr. president, let me conclude by saying this -- the united states does and should stand by its allies, but our allies must also stand by the values and the laws of the united states of america. that's what an ally is. mr. president, we must now use all of our leverage to make, to prevent the catastrophe in gaza from becoming even worse. and that means holding all, holding back all offensive military aid, including billions in recent funding, until the netanyahu government withdraws from gaza, restores humanitarian aid to people who are now facing star

starvation, ends the disastrous war and stops killing palestinians in the west bank. the united states of america must not be complicit in this