On Friday, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said it would be “appropriate” to condition future aid to Israel if the Israeli leadership “does not do better” in preventing the deaths of civilians in Gaza.
“We never want to see innocent women, children, old people killed. It’s happened here at a very high rate,” Kelly told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” in a pre-arranged interview that aired Sunday.
“I’ve talked to the ambassador — the Israeli ambassador, Michael Herzog — about this specifically: if we don’t see some changes, I think it’s appropriate to put some conditions on this aid,” Kelly added. A few weeks after both houses of Congress foreign aid package passed Includes $26 billion in aid to Israel.
“They’re getting more aid,” Kelly said, but added that the Israeli military also needs more targeted munitions, “JDAM kits for the Mark 80 series weapons, the type of weapons I used in the battles over Iraq.”
He added: “If we see the same level of civilian casualties [after that]that’s my big concern.”
Kelly linked his concern about civilian casualties to the growing concern of aid groups around the world about the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.
World Food Program Executive Director Cindy McCain in a separate interview for “Meet the Press.” said moderator Kristen Welker“There is a famine in the north – a famine in full force [of Gaza]and it’s moving south.”
Kelly, who said he had “talked about this a lot” with McCain, said he would “continue to address this issue and push the Israelis to do better.”
“If the Israelis can perform better on the battlefield, reduce civilian casualties, make fewer mistakes, or if the goal is not to make mistakes, it will help innocent Palestinians get food aid,” he said. .
Welker also asked Kelly about access to abortion in her state, where lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs overturned the abortion ban in 1864. Ban due to some quirks in Arizona state law may still take effect for a whiledespite the cancellation.
“I think women in Arizona have had a really tough time,” Kelly told Welker before blaming Arizona’s ban on former President Donald Trump.
“The bottom line is that women in Arizona don’t have the same rights that they used to have,” Kelly said.
“What we really need is national legislation to codify a woman’s right to make those decisions,” Kelly said, adding before agreeing that she would support overturning the filibuster to codify abortion rights into federal law.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, there are no federal standards for abortions, but President Joe Biden called for standards to be codified Roe was appointed in 1973. To do that, Democrats would have to take control of the Senate and the House of Representatives and elect Biden to a second term. Even then, very little legislation passes the Senate without the 60 votes needed to overcome impeachment.
Democrats are unlikely to win 60 seats in the Senate, so the other alternative is for 50 senators to agree to filibuster exemptions for abortion legislation.
“I feel that we will retain control of the Senate [after the election]. I think issues like these, whether it’s choice or voting rights, I think it’s worth re-examining what we need to do to get them to the finish line,” the senator said.
Despite his confidence in retaining control of the upper house of Congress, Kelly said he was “very concerned” that Trump might try to overturn the presidential election if he doesn’t win Arizona’s Electoral College votes.
His comments came after the state’s attorney general last month He accused several former aides of Trump for their claims to nullify the 2020 elections there.
“I believe in our judicial system that they will go through a process. And however it turns out, we all have to accept what that process is,” Kelly said.