III 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 554 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 9, 2024 Mr. Welch (for himself, Mr. Kaine , Mr. Van Hollen , Mr. Sanders , Mr. Merkley , Ms. Smith , Mr. Booker , Mr. Bennet , Mrs. Murray , Mr. Warnock , Ms. Warren , Mr. Warner , Mr. Schatz , Ms. Stabenow , Ms. Klobuchar , and Mr. King ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations RESOLUTION Calling for the urgent delivery of sufficient humanitarian aid to address the needs of civilians in Gaza.

Whereas the population of the Gaza Strip, an estimated 2,200,000 people, are classified as in crisis or worse with respect to levels of acute food insecurity as reported by the Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Phase Classification; Whereas, according to the World Food Program, an estimated 1,700,000 people are facing potential imminent starvation in Gaza; Whereas women habitually eat last and least in times of heightened food insecurity; Whereas the World Health Organization reports that a lack of adequate medical supplies, food, water, and fuel have severely compromised an already under-resourced health system in Gaza; Whereas, according to the World Health Organization, there are only 16 partially functioning hospitals in Gaza; Whereas the World Health Organization has recorded an increased risk of preventable diseases, diarrhea, and acute respiratory infections in Gaza; Whereas the water and sanitation systems in Gaza have been severely damaged or destroyed, and the United Nations has reported that more than 96 percent of the available water supply in Gaza is unfit for human consumption; Whereas there has been extensive damage to other critical infrastructure in Gaza, impeding the delivery of humanitarian aid; Whereas improvements to the deconfliction process are needed in Gaza to allow humanitarian organizations to safely carry out their missions delivering aid to individuals most in need; Whereas the United States has helped lead the humanitarian response in Gaza and is the largest single-state funder of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people; Whereas, prior to the conflict that began in 2023, an average of 500 trucks carrying fuel, commodities, and private sector goods entered Gaza every working day; Whereas the number of aid trucks entering Gaza has fallen to an average drastically below 500 per day; Whereas the opening of Kerem Shalom crossing was a welcome step in facilitating an increase in aid delivery into Gaza; Whereas the process of inspections of aid trucks seeking entry to Gaza remains inefficient, creating substantial delays in the delivery of aid; and Whereas United States officials have worked to increase access for aid trucks and to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but far more needs to be done: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate urgently calls on the administration of President Joseph R. Biden, in coordination with United States allies and partners within the international community, to help facilitate a dramatic increase in humanitarian aid to prevent starvation and disease in Gaza by— (1) streamlining the inspection of trucks entering Gaza; (2) increasing the access points for aid deliveries into Gaza; (3) ensuring the distribution of adequate fuel to hospitals and humanitarian organizations in Gaza; (4) ensuring the ability of humanitarian organizations to deliver aid safely and urgently in Gaza; (5) expanding the number of safe shelters and food distribution locations for displaced people in Gaza; (6) supporting efforts to restore water supply lines; and (7) working to secure the additional funding necessary to support the humanitarian response.