Secretary of State Antony Blinken sat down with the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday to discuss a range of topics that includes the war in Israel and U.S. aid for the Gaza Strip.
Blinken told the Committee the U.S. has to anticipate some aid going into the hands of Hamas.
“Can I promise you in this committee that there’ll be 100% delivery to the designated recipients? No, there will inevitably be some spillage,” he said. “We haven’t seen it to date, but I think we have to anticipate that. But the overwhelming, overwhelming majority of the assistance thus far is getting to people who need it. And we need more.”
From Fox News:
Blinken said so far, the U.S. has gotten up to 50 trucks of aid per day into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
“Before the conflict in Gaza, before Hamas’ aggression against Israel and its response, the U.N. and other agencies and other organizations providing relief were sending in between 500 and 800 hundred trucks a day,” he said. “Right now, we’re up to almost 60. We’re trying to get to 100 this week.”
When asked about the process to make sure the aid is not going to terrorists, Blinken said “from day one, we have been working with the Israeli government, with Egypt, with the U.N. agencies, as well as with other actors to try to make sure that assistance could get in to people who need it in Gaza, but get in, in a way that doesn’t go to the people who don’t need it. And that’s Hamas.
Watch a clip below of Blinken speaking with Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN). More over at Fox News:
WATCH: Biden Secretary of State Antony Blinken refuses — three times in a row — to guarantee U.S. taxpayer dollars were not used to fund the October 7th Hamas terrorist attacks pic.twitter.com/z87B3f9eey
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 31, 2023
Blinken, on Gaza aid, says US has to anticipate possible 'spillage' over to Hamas https://t.co/TWBLum3bqB
— Fox News Politics (@foxnewspolitics) October 31, 2023