Israeli defence minister shows US Senators proof of Hamas stopping evacuations

On October 15 Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant hosted and briefed a delegation of bipartisan members of U.S. Congress including Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and Senators Jacklyn Rosen, Mitt Romney, Mark Kelly, and William Cassidy.

“We must maintain a critical combination that includes Israel’s military power and our determination to destroy the enemy, together with ongoing U.S. support and partnership," Israel National News quotes Gallant as saying.

Minister Gallant discussed the horrific attacks conducted by the Hamas terrorist organization exactly one week ago – the greatest human loss for the Jewish people in a single day since the Holocaust. The Senators viewed a video of some of the atrocities conducted against Israeli civilians and troops including murder, decapitation, rape, and abduction.

Head of the International Cooperation Division of the IDF, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin then briefed the Senators on developments in the war and Israeli military operations.

The Minister discussed the heroic actions of both IDF troops and Israeli civilians in defending their families and communities and fighting Hamas terrorists. He addressed the Senators’ questions regarding humanitarian issues and Israeli efforts to evacuate the Gazan civilian population from centres of war.

Minister Gallant presented the senators with images depicting Hamas actively preventing civilians from evacuating military targets and hotspots of terror infrastructure, in order to increase human casualties and use the Palestinian Arabs as human shields.

Minister Gallant expressed his sincere appreciation to the Senators, the wider U.S. Congress, the defence establishment, and the Administration for the extraordinary support provided, and open lines of communication. He urged the Senators to seek support for the urgent needs of Israel’s military and humanitarian efforts.