Denver — U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) joined U.S. Senators Chris Coons, Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and 20 of their Senate colleagues to urge President Trump to push for the resumption of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza and a return to ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas to end the war in a manner that ensures Israel’s security and ends the crisis in Gaza. The letter comes as President Trump travels this week to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
When President Trump took office, the January 15 ceasefire deal negotiated by the Biden administration was in effect – 30 Israeli hostages had been reunited with their families, Hamas’ military capacity had been effectively obliterated, and humanitarian aid was reaching Gaza. Yet in the months since President Trump’s inauguration, negotiations towards long-term regional security collapsed, and dozens of hostages remain imprisoned by Hamas.
“When you took office in January 2025, we were on a path to peace in the Israel-Gaza conflict, thanks in part to your team’s efforts during the Presidential transition,” wrote Bennet, Coons, and the senators. “But today, the United States is not providing critically needed leadership to drive peace forward, which is why we write to express our deep concern in advance of your upcoming travel to the Middle East.”
The senators note that the situation on the ground has deteriorated dramatically. Fighting in Gaza has resumed, negotiations towards long-term regional security have collapsed, and dozens of hostages remain imprisoned by Hamas, despite the Trump administration’s commendable efforts to secure the release of Edan Alexander, an American-Israeli Hamas released on May 12, 2025. More than 116,000 metric tons of food assistance have been stuck outside Gaza, and an estimated 90 percent of Gaza’s population face high levels of acute food and water insecurity. Most civilians face emergency or crisis levels of hunger. Israel also recently announced its intent to expand military operations and pursue a long-term occupation of Gaza.
“The announcement has already escalated tensions in the Middle East, once again threatening to engulf the volatile region in conflict,” wrote the senators. “The Houthis struck Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on May 4 and have vowed to further retaliate against the proposed occupation. Jordan, one of our most important regional security partners, is facing intensifying pressure amid continued public anger over Gaza. Saudi Arabia has made it clear there can be no progress towards normalization with Israel without a pathway toward Palestinian statehood.”
In their letter, the senators asked Trump to press all parties to agree to a deal that:
- Secures the immediate release of all remaining hostages;
- Ushers in a ceasefire;
- Works towards the creation of a security force backed by Arab partners to administer Gaza without Hamas; and
- Creates a path toward a lasting solution that will allow the Israeli and Palestinian people to live in security, dignity, and prosperity.
“It has been nearly 20 months since Hamas murdered more than 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages, including American citizens,” concluded the senators. “This period has also been marked by severe humanitarian suffering of civilians in Gaza, where more than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed and millions displaced. All of us are longstanding advocates of the U.S.-Israel security partnership, and we will continue to fight for the defense of the Israeli people. That is why, today, we stand with the nearly three-quarters of the Israeli public who are fighting for the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire.”
In recent months, Bennet has repeatedly demanded that President Trump abandon his foolish plan to send U.S. soldiers to Gaza to build a “Riviera of the Middle East” and eject over two million Gazans.
Last year, Bennet urged then-Ambassador of Israel to the United States Michael Herzog and Ambassador of Egypt to the United States Motaz Zahran to ensure Palestinian children who are critically ill or injured can leave Gaza safely to seek medical treatment, and increase access to life-saving medical treatments in Gaza. He also called on the Biden administration to continue working with allies and partners to expedite the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza by increasing access points for aid into Gaza, distributing adequate fuel to hospitals, and ensuring the safe delivery of humanitarian aid.
Bennet also traveled to the West Bank, Israel, and Jordan earlier in 2024. . In meetings with Israeli, Palestinian, and Jordanian leaders, he underscored that degrading Hamas’ military capabilities, fighting for release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, and protecting and delivering aid to Palestinian civilians cannot be mutually exclusive.
In addition to Bennet, Coons, Reed, Schatz, Shaheen, and Warner, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) also signed the letter.
The text of the letter is available HERE and below.
Dear President Trump:
When you took office in January 2025, we were on a path to peace in the Israel-Gaza conflict, thanks in part to your team’s efforts during the Presidential transition. A ceasefire was in effect and 30 hostages were reunited with their families. Hamas’s military capacity had been effectively obliterated, with the IDF calling it a “guerilla terror group” that could no longer mount a sustained military operation against the people of Israel – a testament to both Israel’s military prowess and the United States’ unflinching support. But today, the United States is not providing critically needed leadership to drive peace forward, which is why we write to express our deep concern in advance of your upcoming travel to the Middle East.
Since March of this year, the situation on the ground has deteriorated dramatically. Fighting in Gaza has resumed, negotiations towards long-term regional security have collapsed, and dozens of hostages remain imprisoned by Hamas. In fact, we have not had a single hostage return home since February 26. In addition, we are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe in the third month of Israel’s full blockade of food, water, and medicine into Gaza. This is the longest closure Gaza has ever faced. While the World Food Program ran out of food stocks inside Gaza on April 25, they report that more than 116,000 metric tons of food assistance – enough to feed one million people for up to four months – has been positioned outside Gaza at aid corridors, unable to enter. According to the United Nations, an estimated 90 percent of Gaza’s population faces high levels of acute food and water insecurity, with most civilians facing emergency or crisis levels of hunger. Against this backdrop, the Israeli government’s new aid proposal is simply not viable. It would limit aid distribution to just a few sites in southern Gaza secured by private U.S. contractors, and nearly all aid groups operating in the region note this would only increase insecurity and displacement. Roughly half of Gaza’s 2.1 million people are children; a generation of starving children today would prevent a secure and peaceful Israel tomorrow.
This week, the Israeli government announced a plan to expand military operations and pursue a sustained, long-term occupation of Gaza. This is a dangerous inflection point for Israel and the region, and while we support ongoing efforts to eliminate Hamas, a full-scale reoccupation of Gaza would be a critical strategic mistake. The announcement has already escalated tensions in the Middle East, once again threatening to engulf the volatile region in conflict. The Houthis struck Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on May 4 and have vowed to further retaliate against the proposed occupation. Jordan, one of our most important regional security partners, is facing intensifying pressure amid continued public anger over Gaza. Saudi Arabia has made it clear there can be no progress towards normalization with Israel without a pathway toward Palestinian statehood. In this context, Israel’s planned actions would severely undermine Jerusalem’s path to a more secure, stable and regionally integrated future, which you championed in your first term through the Abraham Accords.
Israel’s proposed occupation plans take us further away from permanently ending the Israel-Gaza war and upholding Israel’s security, both goals that you have promised to achieve under your administration. As such, in advance of your upcoming visit, we urge you to oppose a permanent reoccupation of Gaza and to press for the immediate resumption of neutral and impartial humanitarian assistance, access, and distribution that fully meets the needs of innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
You also have a unique opportunity to press the parties to agree to a deal that:
(1) secures the immediate release of all remaining hostages;
(2) ushers in a ceasefire;
(3) works towards the creation of a security force backed by Arab partners to administer Gaza without Hamas; and
(4) creates a path towards a lasting solution that will allow the Israeli and Palestinian people to live in security, dignity, and prosperity.
Mr. President, like you, we are unequivocal in our commitment to Israel’s right to defend itself. It has been nearly 20 months since Hamas murdered more than 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages, including American citizens. This period has also been marked by severe humanitarian suffering in Gaza, where more than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed and millions displaced. All of us are longstanding advocates of the U.S.-Israel security partnership, and we will continue to fight for the defense of the Israeli people. That is why, today, we stand with the nearly threequarters of the Israeli public who are fighting for the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire.