WASHINGTON

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker on Sunday endorsed a Senate effort to block US arms sales to Israel, saying it sends “the right kind of message” to the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Gaza’s worsening humanitarian crisis and reports of starvation.

“It’s the right kind of message, which is that Israel needs to make sure that the food assistance that ought to go to innocent Palestinians arrives there,” Pritzker said, appearing on broadcaster NBC News. “And they should do everything in their power to prevent the starvation that I think we’ve all seen.”

Pritzker was responding to a question about Netanyahu’s plans for a ground invasion of Gaza City, as well as last week’s Senate votes on a pair of resolutions seeking to block certain weapons transfers to Israel.

The measures, introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, were backed by a record 27 Democrats — a majority of the party’s caucus — marking a sharp increase from the 15 Democrats who supported similar resolutions in April.

Both failed by a bipartisan margin of more than 70 votes.

Israel has pursued a brutal military offensive on Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 61,400 Palestinians, almost half of them women and children. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.

Despite mounting international concern about the escalation of ethnic cleansing and genocide against Palestinians, Israel's Security Cabinet approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to expand military operations and fully occupy Gaza City.

Last November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), in its interim ruling on Gaza last year, said that it's "plausible" that Israel's actions could amount to genocide. The court issued provisional measures, requiring the Israeli government to abide by international law and ensure aid and services reach Palestinians under siege in Gaza.