Van Hollen: Defy Netanyahu to guarantee Gazans don't starve

Sen. Chris Van Hollen on Sunday continued to push President Joe Biden to guarantee more humanitarian aid reaches those who need it in Gaza, no matter what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants.

"My view is that a partnership needs to be a two-way street, not a one-way blank check with American taxpayer dollars," the Maryland Democrat said on ABC's "This Week." "So, this is not about saying we’re not going to provide any more weapons. It’s about saying, hey, we have requests: Don’t let people starve to death."

He reiterated this point to host Martha Raddatz: "I’m just saying to President Biden, you said no excuses when it comes to getting humanitarian aid into Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to drag his feet. So, instead of just sending more bombs without in turn getting the request that you want, Mr. President, let’s at least make this a partnership."

Van Hollen, who has been pushing Biden in recent weeks to be tougher with Israel's prime minister, said Netanyahu has continued to take advantage of his relationship with Biden and other American leaders to dodge his obligation to keep Gazans from starving to death even as fresh arms shipments are sent to Israel.

"We have a situation where Netanyahu continues to essentially, you know, give the finger to the president of the United States, and we’re sending more bombs. So, that doesn’t make sense," Van Hollen told Raddatz.

Israel has been fighting in Gaza since Hamas' Oct. 7 lethal incursion into the country; more than 30,000 Gazans are reported to have died since then. For his part, Van Hollen insisted that Israel has a right to do what it is attempting to do, dislodge Hamas and protect itself.

"Israel is totally within its rights, in fact, I would say has a duty to defend itself after the horrific Hamas attacks of October 7. But that right does not extend to restricting unnecessarily assistance to people in Gaza," he said.