Senate blocks Israel arms ban as Gaza death toll fuels Democratic shift

On July 30, the US Senate voted down a resolution aimed at halting American arms sales to Israel, as a growing number of Democratic lawmakers voiced concern over Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza and the worsening humanitarian crisis there.

According to foreign media, the measure, introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders, failed by a vote of 27 to 70. 

It was the first of two resolutions put forward by the Vermont Independent as part of a renewed effort to suspend arms transfers to Israel. The vote underscored widening divisions among Senate Democrats, with 12 new lawmakers breaking ranks to support the resolution, many of whom had previously backed arms sales to the Israeli government.

“This resolution is absolutely necessary because the United States will have no credibility in the international community if we don’t stand up against this,” Sanders said on the Senate floor.

The latest vote comes amid intensifying global condemnation of Israel’s conduct in Gaza. Notably, President Donald Trump this week publicly contradicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that there is no hunger crisis in the territory — an unusually direct rebuke from the US leader. Britain, France, and several other countries have also threatened to recognise Palestinian statehood unless Israel improves humanitarian conditions in Gaza and recommits to a long-term peace process.

Wednesday’s vote marked the third time since late 2024 that Sanders has forced a Senate floor vote seeking to block arms sales to Israel, citing the civilian toll of the conflict. Among the new supporters was Senator Angus King of Maine, an Independent who until recently had supported military aid to Israel.

“I had just had it,” King said in an interview. “I kept expecting that Israel would wake up and realise what an awful thing they were perpetuating, and that surely they would at least open up humanitarian aid. They just continued to not do it, and I just reached the point where enough was enough.”

Other senators who joined the pro-resolution bloc since April include Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Senate Armed Services ranking member Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Senate Appropriations ranking member Patty Murray (D-Wash.), along with Democratic Senators Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (Del.), Martin Heinrich (N.M.), Jon Ossoff (Ga.), Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.), Angela Alsobrooks (Md.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.).

Back in April, Sanders introduced two similar resolutions that also failed, drawing only 15 votes, fewer than a previous effort in November 2024, which received the backing of 19 senators. The April effort followed the breakdown of a Gaza ceasefire and targeted multi-billion-dollar arms sales to Israel.

One of Wednesday’s resolutions sought to block a $676 million arms package that includes 5,000 large bombs and 5,000 guidance kits. The other aimed to halt the export of tens of thousands of fully automatic assault rifles.

Sanders argued that allowing these transfers would violate US laws governing foreign military sales, saying the weapons have been used by Israel to kill large numbers of Palestinian civilians.

Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, opposed the measures and defended the sales.

“These are misguided resolutions, and if adopted, would … abandon America’s closest ally in the Middle East,” Risch said in remarks on the Senate floor. “It is Hamas, not Israel, that is perpetuating this war.”

By Tamilla Hasanova