During President Biden's State of the Union address, he announced the construction of a port through which American vessels would deliver aid to Gaza as Hamas continues its war with Israel. In a recent appearance on CBS's Face the Nation, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) said he understood the impetus for wanting to ensure the safety of civilians, yet "I think it’s important to understand the reason why aid cannot get to them."
The reason, as Sen. Rubio bluntly stated, "is Hamas."
For example, he pointed out the extensive tunnel network dug by the militants throughout Gaza, which cost "millions of dollars," which "could have gone to create an economy, to feed people, to build hospitals and services, but they did not do it."
Moreover, any aid meant for Palestinian civilians would be "grabbed by Hamas for their purposes at the expense of the civilian population."
A December video appeared to show this exact scenario, as 79 foreign aid trucks entering Gaza via Kerem Shalom were driven and supervised by masked and armed men, supposedly Hamas operatives. Another video released around the same time showed civilians looting trucks crossing in from Rafah.
However, Ambassador David Satterfield said no concrete evidence of Hamas stealing foreign aid existed, but did acknowledge the group "has been using other aid delivery channels to "shape where and to whom assistance goes," as Times of Israel reported in February.
Rubio replied this was effectively a distinction without a difference.
"How does Hamas get food? Hamas does not have an economy. Everything Hamas gets comes from abroad, from Iranians, and from what they take. The evidence is in place that they have existed as an organization without any means of generating revenue other than what they are able to capture. That’s just common sense," Rubio continued, adding Hamas "has a track record of zero when it comes to caring about the lives of civilians or society in general."
In November, Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) similarly argued that "Hamas did not just take Israelis hostage, but they are holding Palestinians hostage by using them as human shields in order to sell that propaganda around the world. They want more Palestinians to die, unfortunately, so they can feed that over social media."
