Rabia Iclal Turan
09 July 2025•Update: 09 July 2025
WASHINGTON
US Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Ilhan Omar criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington as Israel continued its onslaught on the Gaza Strip, where more than 57,500 Palestinians have been killed.
In a video message posted Tuesday on X, Sanders said: "As President Trump and members of Congress roll out the red carpet for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, let us remember that Netanyahu has been indicted as a war criminal by the International Criminal Court for overseeing the systematic killing and starvation of civilians in Gaza. These war crimes continue to this day."
Noting the civilian death toll in Gaza, including 17,000 children, Israel's blocking of aid and massacres at new aid distribution sites, Sanders said "Netanyahu's extremist government is also preventing baby formula from reaching hospitals, meaning mothers who have been starved for months and cannot breastfeed their infants have no alternative to watching their children slowly starve."
"This is the man that Donald Trump and Congress are welcoming this week, a war criminal who will be remembered as one of the monsters of modern history," he said.
Omar also posted on X: “This is Benjamin Netanyahu’s third visit to DC this year. War criminals should not be welcomed by any president or Congress. He should be held accountable for his crimes, not platformed. Beyond shameful.”
The Israeli army has killed more than 57,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and the spread of diseases.
Last November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
