Exclusive: Sen. Daines discusses visit to Israel, Oct. 7 attack cities and Gaza aid efforts

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, visited Israel and met with two organizations supplying humanitarian aid to Gaza on Monday – the day before Israel launched its latest ground offensive into Gaza City.

“They are doing good work in a very difficult situation that has had some violence and hostilities directed at (aid) drivers and staff members at times,” Daines told The Lion in an exclusive interview on Friday.

Daines, the only member of Congress present on the trip, met the suppliers in Kerem Shalom, a kibbutz in southern Israel bordering Gaza and northeastern Egypt.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and Samaritan’s Purse are faith-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are delivering aid to “the men, women, and children affected by Hamas,” Daines explained.

“The Palestinians there in Gaza are suffering,” he said. “The men, women and children – innocent Palestinians – are suffering because of what Hamas has done.”

Despite the violence and hostility against drivers and staff members, the organizations have formed, in their words, a “social contract” with those who need help.

“They distribute the food and the water in an orderly way and are certainly helping these suffering Palestinians,” Daines said. “They seem to have cracked the code in terms of doing this in an orderly way that gets the aid directly to the people in need.”

Daines also said he saw evidence the aid distribution is successful, in contrast to reports of problems with United Nations-led aid. Hamas soldiers are looting the UN trucks and selling the supplies on black markets to generate funds for themselves, the senator said. 

The concerns led Daines to ask UN Ambassador Mike Waltz to address the issue and to personally visit Kerem Shalom.

After the aid meetings, Daines visited Nahal Oz, which Hamas brutally attacked on Oct. 7, 2023. A young, female Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldier, “who was there on that day and saw the terror with her own eyes,” showed Daines around. 

The senator observed one home’s “safe room,” a small, concrete room that could crowd 15-20 people inside. “Many of the women were there when the Hamas terrorists brutalized them,” Daines told The Lion. 

The IDF soldier also played videos of the horrific attacks recorded by Hamas in that very location. 

“That was very difficult, very emotional – seeing these acts of evil perpetrated against these innocent women who were a part of the IDF,” Daines said. 

Following the tour, the senator also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem to discuss the “security issues Israel is facing with Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran,” Daines said. “The IDF will do what it needs to do here to ensure that Israel is protected and secure.” 

That includes its latest ground offensive, which was just getting under way. 

“As we were standing by the control room, we could hear the Israeli F-16s that were right over the top of us,” Daines said. “We could hear large explosions as the IDF was beginning their offensive there to take Gaza City and continue to work to eradicate Hamas.” 

The IDF sent messages in advance, warning Palestinians to evacuate the city, but Hamas militants made every effort to contain them, according to the senator. 

“Hamas has been doing all they can to prevent innocent Palestinians from getting out of harm’s way,” he said. “Hamas is like a cancer. If some of the cancer cells remain in the body, the cancer returns. So, Hamas needs to be eradicated in Gaza.” 

To put it in perspective, Daines compared the loss of life Israel experienced on Oct. 7 to a hypothetical terrorist attack on America of the same proportion, estimating 40,000 Americans would have been killed and 1,000 more kidnapped. 

“The United States would not have hesitated to pursue every one of the terrorists and killed them,” Daines concluded. “That’s exactly what Israel is attempting to do, because they’ll never have true peace in Gaza with Israel until Hamas is eradicated.” 

(Photo Attribution: Office of Senator Steve Daines)