Booker And Kim Split On Vote To Block Arms Sale To Israel As Gaza Famine Worsens

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday took up two major resolutions to halt an arms sale to Israel. Both measures ultimately failed; however, a majority of Senate Democrats backed blocking an arms transfer, marking a shift in congressional sentiment.

The vote comes amid warnings that Gaza is set to reach an “irreversible” and catastrophic level of famine, with images of emaciated children flooding social media. Since March, Israel has blocked most humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, and what is allowed in is not enough, according to a recent study. Reports also indicate that Israeli soldiers have shot civilians waiting in line for food.

With pressure mounting on New Jersey’s congressional delegation, the state’s Senate Democrats found themselves divided when it came time to vote.

Sen. Andy Kim (D), who voted for the resolutions, cited the mounting humanitarian disaster in Gaza and the stories of starvation coming directly from constituents. 

“The weapons systems in the resolutions would only take us further from the change that is needed and prolong the suffering we witness,” Kim said in a statement.

Kim said that there are thousands of trucks “ready to deliver,” with “enough food waiting across the border to feed” Palestinians in Gaza. Those trucks need access from the Israeli government, he said.

“The current distribution system cannot handle the level of desperation. In fact, it’s making the misery worse. The current pauses in fighting and air drops simply are not enough for the necessary food to get to the people who need it,” he said.

Sen. Cory Booker (D), by contrast, voted against both resolutions, arguing in his statement that blocking future arms sales would “restrict our country’s ability to provide future security guarantees without achieving the goal of ending this war now or increasing vital humanitarian aid.” 

While he did also call “suffering, starvation, and atrocities” in Gaza “unacceptable,” Booker’s position has frustrated some constituents.

The votes came the same day that advocates and families gathered at a CAIR New Jersey press conference, sharing stories of how their family members were either killed by Israeli soldiers or are losing weight due to the ongoing famine.

One New Jersey resident named Huda Aboukwaik shared how her family members have either been killed or are going hungry. Her uncle and cousin were killed by an Israeli drone, searching for an apartment in an area that was supposedly deemed safe. Her aunt, who once weighed approximately 150 pounds, now only weighs 80 pounds.

A new report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification found that as food supplies run out and as displacement grows, one in three people in Gaza are going days without eating. Between April and mid-July, about 20,000 children were treated for acute malnutrition.

“Immediate action must be taken to alleviate the catastrophic suffering of people in Gaza. This includes scaling up the flow of goods, restoring basic services, and ensuring safe, unimpeded access to sufficient life-saving assistance. None of this is possible unless there is a ceasefire,” the report said.

Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories has said there is no famine in Gaza, but acknowledged that some areas had issues in accessing food. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to “secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear firsthand about this dire situation,” according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

However, families in Gaza also face fears that they will be killed by Israeli soldiers. Another New Jersey resident, Noreen Rashid, recounted the story of how her uncle and cousins in Gaza were killed in late 2023.

Her cousin’s 12-year-old Nouran and 10-year-old Razan, were retrieving water from their courtyard when they were killed. When their father Ahmed went out to cover his daughter’s bodies, he, too, was shot.

“As if they had not done enough, Nouran, Razan, and Ahmed’s graves were desecrated after they were buried a week later. Bulldozers destroyed the only markers we had where they were laid to rest,” Rashid said.

Speakers at the CAIR New Jersey press conference urged New Jersey’s congressional delegation to push both Senate Resolution 224 and House Resolution 473 forward, which would lift the blockade on aid, restore UN-led humanitarian deliveries, and push both the Trump and Netanyahu administrations to end the crisis.

CAIR New Jersey’s Communications Manager Aya Elamroussi spoke to the room of journalists at the press conference, urging them to frame the famine not as a natural disaster but a “manufactured” one, driven by policy choices and funded by American taxpayers.

“These Americans are funding the killings of their families,” said Elamroussi, pointing to the speakers behind her. “So we cannot call it a famine and not describe who’s doing it and how it’s being done.”