US senators demand ‘massive surge’ of baby formula and aid to be sent to Gaza

Five democratic US senators are demanding secretary of state Marco Rubio facilitate an immediate “massive surge” of baby formula and humanitarian aid to Gaza, where infants are dying of starvation.

The letter, led by Democrat Ruben Gallego of Arizona and obtained exclusively by the Guardian, comes as Gaza City and surrounding areas have been officially classified as experiencing famine by international monitors. More than 300 people, including at least 119 children, have died from hunger in Gaza since October 2023, according to health authorities.

The letter is also signed by senators Peter Welch of Vermont, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

The situation could significantly worsen in the coming days, as Israel announced on Friday that it will no longer pause fighting to allow aid deliveries in Gaza City, as the military prepares for a fresh ground operation.

“We write to you today with urgency about the grave crisis that infants in Gaza face as a result of severe restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid,” the senators wrote in the letter, calling on the US to use its “full power and authority” to meet what they describe as a moral obligation.

The Senate letter follows a similar appeal last week from over 100 House Democrats led by representatives Ayanna Pressley and Brittany Pettersen, who first called for a surge in baby formula deliveries to Gaza.

An August report from Save the Children found that 43% of pregnant and breastfeeding women seeking treatment in Gaza were malnourished. An estimated 65% of registered voters support the US taking action to help people facing starvation in Gaza, according to late August Reuters/Ipsos polling.

Israeli authorities blocked all aid from entering the territory for over two months between March and May and then replaced the UN aid system with the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – which delivers a fraction of previous levels and excludes baby formula at four highly militarized sites around which hundreds of Palestinians seeking food have been shot to death. An early August report from the UN’s Human Rights office recorded 859 people killed around GHF’s operations since it launched in May.

While the World Food Programme said Thursday that more food trucks were able to enter Gaza over the last few days after a growing global pressure campaign, the increase was still far below the 500-600 the UN says are needed to enter daily to make a dent in the crisis. Friday’s announcement by Israel that it will no longer enable aid deliveries is likely to set any progress back.

The senators said malnourished mothers cannot sustain breastfeeding, making formula “the only option for infant survival in many cases” according to the letter. Volunteer doctors entering Gaza have reported Israeli authorities confiscating baby formula from their luggage at the border.

Gallego recently returned from paternity leave after welcoming a baby son in June. He has continued to vote in the Senate.

“We appeal to you not only in your capacity as a government official but as a parent,” the senators wrote to Rubio. “No child should face the desperation and suffering we are witnessing in Gaza in real time.”

The letter reflects Gallego and the wider party’s careful evolution on Gaza policy, as polls show overwhelming disapproval among voting Democrats for Israel’s war. The Arizona senator, who has visited Iowa recently amid speculation about a 2028 presidential bid, notably did not vote on either of Bernie Sanders’ joint resolutions to block arms sales to Israel last month.Of 47 Senate Democrats, 27 voted for a resolution to block the sale of assault rifles to Israel, and 24 voted to block bomb sales. Gallego later said he was “re-evaluating” and would look at conditioning aid going forward.

But movement within the party is proceeding slowly. At the Democratic National Committee gathering in Minneapolis this week, progressive calls for an arms embargo on Israel were rejected, while a moderate ceasefire resolution was initially passed but later withdrawn to preserve party unity.

Voters are much less divided: a Quinnipiac survey from late August found that 60% of registered voters oppose providing more military aid to Israel – the highest opposition recorded to date. The same poll revealed that half of US voters – and 77% of Democrats – now believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

The world’s foremost global hunger monitor, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system, said in an analysis last week that more than half a million Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing famine and projected the number would rise. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called the findings of the report an “outright lie”, with the government suggesting the IPC report used incomplete data.

The senators are demanding swift action from Rubio, requesting a written response by 1 September. They call for all crossings into Gaza to reopen immediately for humanitarian aid and for Israel to “vastly scale up” access.

“This moment demands moral clarity and decisive action,” they wrote. “We must use our leverage to ensure the most vulnerable are protected.”