‘I follow Israel on that’

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) doubled down on his support for Israel on Tuesday, shortly after Israeli forces seized the Rafah border crossing in the Gaza Strip. More than 1 million civilians are held there during the ongoing war.

Asked on Fox News if he supported Israel entering Rafah, Fetterman said: “Well, I support Israel on that. I mean, they know the situation better than I do. Sho.”

“And I always try to focus this on people, where Hamas could be…well, they started this,” Fetterman continued on Tuesday. Ta. “They did such a terrible thing. And this situation could end now if they send all the hostages back home, they could surrender…but obviously they are not Palestinians. They don’t care about the death, chaos, and damage caused to everyone.”

His remarks came hours after Israel began deploying military tanks to the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which is home to a key border crossing for delivering humanitarian aid. The Biden administration and other Western leaders have argued in recent weeks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a full-scale invasion could endanger civilian lives and the delivery of vital aid. I tried to avoid it.

White House National Security and Public Affairs Advisor John Kirby said Tuesday that the United States is closely monitoring Israeli actions in Rafah, but that those actions could lead to a full-scale military attack that U.S. officials have warned He pointed out that it had not reached the level of an operation.

Prime Minister Netanyahu argued that the military operation in Rafah would increase pressure on Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007.

Fetterman insisted Tuesday that Israel is taking precautions to protect civilian lives.

“Israel actually cares about minimizing these civilian deaths. But Hamas sees it as nothing more than collateral damage for itself,” he said.

“Israel is in a war like this. And we have no conditions. There never are. And I can’t imagine ever will be,” he said in earlier remarks.

Israel on Monday told about 100,000 residents of eastern Rafah to evacuate, and UNRWA, the United Nations agency that supplies food and medicine to civilians, said it intended to remain in Rafah despite the Israeli invasion.

Fetterman, who is in his first term in the Senate, has staunchly supported Israel since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and has often broken with liberal Democrats over Israel’s handling of the war.

He harshly criticized the ongoing pro-Palestinian university demonstrations on university campuses across the country, accusing them of being “opposed to peace in the Middle East.” In another interview, he also referred to them as Hamas’ “puppy tents.”

Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Democratic lawmaker suggested the protesters didn’t understand exactly what they were standing for.

“If you ask them, they don’t really know any better. They can’t do it — and now they’re not talking about a ceasefire anymore. And now they’re selling out and damaging Israel on it. We’re talking about that. It’s crazy,” he told FOX News anchor Bret Baier.

“And Hamas is confident that it has won the PR war and continues to hold these types of protests across the country.” [on] These campuses. “It’s not helpful and I think it’s actually counterproductive to peace,” he continued.

The United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, has been working for weeks to reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas aimed at releasing Israeli hostages. Hamas announced on Monday that it had accepted an offer for a temporary ceasefire, but Israel claimed the group’s terms fell short of its core demands.

The White House on Tuesday pressed ahead with the deal despite Israel’s seizure of the Rafah border crossing.