### Senate Vote Fails as Activist Pressure Mounts Amid Gaza Crisis

The Senate's recent decision came as conditions in Gaza reached critical levels, according to various aid organizations. Cindy McCain, the executive director of the U.N. World Food Programme, warned on X earlier this month that famine conditions are likely imminent in north Gaza. She urged for immediate measures to facilitate the safe and rapid delivery of humanitarian and commercial supplies to avert a full-scale catastrophe.

In the United States, activists have been calling on Congress to halt the provision of weapons to Israel. This week, nearly 50 demonstrators were arrested in a Senate office building while protesting in support of Senator Bernie Sanders' resolutions to cease U.S. arms sales to Israel. Ramah Kudaimi, the campaign director for the Action Center on Race and the Economy and a lead organizer of the protest, emphasized that stopping the flow of U.S. weapons is essential to end the ongoing violence.

"As long as the guns and bullets are being sent, Israel has what it needs to continue massacring Palestinian men, women, and children, destroying mosques, churches, schools, homes, and hospitals," Kudaimi stated.

Among those arrested was Rebecca Roberts, an army veteran who left the military in protest over the conflict in Gaza. She expressed disappointment with the Senate's decision, suggesting that it reveals the elected officials' priorities. According to Roberts, the vote showed that officials are more interested in securing campaign funding and re-election than in responding to humanitarian concerns.

Echoing the sentiments of the activists, progressive members of the House, such as Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, have decried the U.S.'s role in the crisis. Rep. Pressley has recounted harrowing stories from American doctors and Palestinian mothers, calling the situation in Gaza a "horrific crisis—a genocide." She emphasized the urgent need for the U.S. to change its course to save lives.

Similarly, Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania argued that halting the sale of weapons to Israel is an obvious and necessary step. Citing the high death toll and massive destruction in Gaza, Lee maintained that calling for peace and stopping U.S. arms supplies to Israel should be a clear course of action for America.

Despite the growing outcries, the Senate resolution did not pass, leaving many activists and progressive lawmakers questioning the future of U.S. involvement in the Gaza conflict.