Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the bipartisan congressional delegation he was leading to Israel were rushed to a bomb shelter as Hamas launched rockets at Tel Aviv.
The New York Democrat wrote on X on Sunday (15 October) morning: “While in Tel Aviv today, our delegation was rushed to a shelter to wait out rockets sent by Hamas. It shows you what Israelis have to go through. We must provide Israel with the support required to defend itself.”
Mr Schumer included an image in the post showing him and Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney, in addition to a number of others.
A press conference was subsequently delayed as they waited for the rocket fire to cease.
In addition to Mr Schumer and Mr Romney, Sens Bill Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana; Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona; and Jacky Rosen, Democrat of Nevada; joined the delegation to meet Israeli officials one week after Hamas launched a terror attack from the Gaza Strip killing at least 1,300 people in the country.
The senatorial delegation met with President Isaac Herzog earlier on Sunday, according to the president’s office. They had “emphasized the cross-party support for the State of Israel”, a statement from his office said.
The 72-year-old Mr Schumer is the highest-ranking Jewish official in the history of the United States, NBC News noted. Ahead of the trip, his office said in a statement that the intent of the trip was to “show the United States’ unwavering support for Israel”.
Mr Schumer noted on X before the journey that he “sat down for Shabbat dinner with my family”.
The senate majority leader was set to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and centrist opposition leader Benny Gantz, who joined a unity government following the attack as the country prepares for a possible ground invasion of Gaza to take out Hamas.
Mr Schumer appeared at a press conference in New York on Friday (13 October), saying that “we’re going to get Israel everything it needs — Iron Dome, all the other needs, both military and humanitarian. And we’re going to do everything we can, and I’m going to urge everyone, everyone in the American government, to bring back the hostages, particularly our American hostages”.
Amidst the crisis in Israel, Mr Schumer ended his previous congressional delegation to Asia ahead of schedule, speaking to Israeli officials from the American embassy in Beijing.
A number of members of Congress were in Israel at the time of the attack, such as Sen Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, and Rep Dan Goldman, Democrat of New York. They have since returned to the US.
A previous US congressional delegation made the journey to Israel last week, including Sen Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa, Democratic Reps Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, Jimmy Panetta of California, and Donald Norcross of New Jersey.
On Friday, Mr Schumer said he had called every airline in the US to argue that they must “resume their regular flights” from Israel.
Congress has sent a funding request to the White House, part of which is set to be aid for Israel.
“As Senate majority leader, as I mentioned, the highest-ranking Jewish leader in American history, I’m doing everything in my power to ensure the Senate delivers the support Israel needs to accomplish these military, intelligence and humanitarian goals,” Mr Schumer said on Sunday. “We will not just talk – we will act.”
