Bernie Sanders Takes Aim at Israel Aid, Says U.S. Taxpayer Money Should Not Fund Gaza War
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders sharpened his challenge to Washington’s support for Israel on Monday, declaring that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government had no right to “commit genocide” in Gaza and should receive “not one nickel more” from American taxpayers.
Speaking at an event in Minnesota, the Vermont independent argued that Israel’s right to respond to the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, did not give its government unlimited authority to wage war across the Gaza Strip. Sanders accused the Israeli military campaign of punishing the wider Palestinian population rather than limiting its operations to Hamas.
His remarks were forceful, but they were not a sudden departure. Sanders has spent years pushing Congress to restrict offensive weapons transfers to Israel. What has changed is the language he now uses and the growing number of Democrats who appear willing to question military assistance that once moved through Congress with far less resistance.
Sanders Points to Gaza’s Enormous Human Toll
Sanders told the Minnesota audience that more than 73,000 Palestinians had been killed and about 173,000 wounded since the war began. Those figures come from Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not separate civilians from combatants in its overall totals.
The Associated Press reported in mid-July that the ministry’s death toll had passed 73,264. The AP noted that United Nations agencies and independent specialists generally consider the ministry’s detailed casualty records reliable, although the figures cannot provide a complete accounting of how many of the dead were fighters. The ministry says women and children represent most of those killed.
Sanders also focused on the physical destruction left behind. He cited schools, hospitals, water networks, sewage facilities, electricity systems and residential neighborhoods that have been damaged or destroyed.
A United Nations humanitarian snapshot previously estimated that 436,000 housing units, representing roughly 92 percent of Gaza’s homes, had been damaged or destroyed. The same assessment said about 70 percent of all structures in the territory had suffered damage.
For Sanders, those numbers reveal something larger than a campaign against an armed organization. He argues that the scale of the assault shows that Gaza’s civilian population and the basic systems needed to support life were placed in the line of fire.
Israel says its military operations target Hamas, which carried out the October 7 attack that killed approximately 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages being taken. Israeli officials accuse Hamas of operating among civilians and using residential areas and public buildings for military purposes.
The Genocide Label Remains Legally and Politically Explosive
Sanders formally described Israel’s conduct as genocide in September 2025. At the time, he called for an immediate ceasefire, increased humanitarian assistance and an end to American arms sales to Netanyahu’s government. His office said he had already forced seven Senate votes aimed at blocking offensive weapons transfers.
His position has received support from several international organizations and investigations. In September 2025, an independent United Nations commission concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. A June 2026 commission report also accused Israeli forces of deliberately targeting Palestinian children, resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Israel rejected the commission’s findings, calling its latest report a defamatory and politically motivated attack. Israeli representatives said the inquiry ignored Hamas’ conduct and maintained that Israel seeks to minimize civilian harm.
The genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice also remains pending. The court has issued provisional measures, but it has not delivered a final ruling on whether Israel committed genocide. That distinction matters: Sanders is stating his political and moral conclusion, supported by some international experts, rather than describing a completed judgment from the world court.
A Ceasefire Has Failed to End the Killing
A ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025, reducing the intensity of the fighting but failing to eliminate Israeli strikes and deadly confrontations. By mid July, at least 1,123 Palestinians had been killed since the agreement began, according to Gaza health authorities cited by the AP. Israel said its strikes responded to militant attacks and other ceasefire violations. Five Israeli soldiers had also been killed during that period.
The Middle East Monitor report, citing Anadolu and Gaza’s Health Ministry, placed the later post-ceasefire toll at 1,168 Palestinians killed and 3,798 injured.
Sanders’ demand to cut assistance is arriving as congressional resistance becomes more visible. On July 15, the House rejected an amendment that would have stopped $3.3 billion in planned aid, but 103 Democrats supported it. The measure failed 104 to 314, yet the vote demonstrated how dramatically the debate has shifted within the Democratic Party.
Sanders is now trying to turn that growing discomfort into policy. His message in Minnesota was blunt: recognizing Israel’s right to security does not require financing every decision made by its government. As Gaza struggles with destroyed homes, damaged hospitals and continuing violence, the argument over American responsibility is no longer confined to the party’s progressive edge. It is moving steadily toward the center of Washington’s foreign policy debate.
