US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks to the media following a meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, US, July 17, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

The US Senate rejected a resolution on Tuesday that would have frozen security aid to Israel unless the State Department produces a report within 30 days examining whether Israel committed human rights violations in its campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

Seventy-two senators voted to set the resolution aside, versus 11 who backed it, easily clearing the simple majority needed to kill the resolution in the 100-member chamber.

The vote was forced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats. While the resolution was handily defeated, it reflected growing concern among some of President Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats, especially on the left, over the supply of US weapons to Israel amid the ongoing Gaza conflict.

“We must ensure that US aid is being used in accordance with human rights and our own laws,” Sanders said in a speech urging support, lamenting what he described as the Senate’s failure to consider any measure looking at the war’s effect on civilians.

The White House had said it opposed the resolution, which could have paved the way toward the imposition of conditions on security assistance to Israel.

Senators who opposed the measure said it sent the wrong message, at a time when Israel had said it was shifting to a more targeted campaign.

“This resolution is not only off-base, it’s dangerous. It sends absolutely the wrong signal at the wrong time,” said Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.

The United States gives Israel $3.8 billion in military assistance each year, ranging from fighter jets to powerful bombs that could destroy Hamas tunnels. Biden has asked Congress to approve an additional $14 billion.

Sanders’ resolution was filed under the Foreign Assistance Act, which allows Congress to direct the State Department to provide a human rights report and other information on any country received US security assistance.

If the resolution had passed, it would have required the State Department to provide a report to Congress within 30 days. After receiving the report, Congress could consider another resolution proposing changes to security assistance to Israel.

Israel launched the war to eradicate Hamas, an Iran-backed Islamist group sworn to Israel’s destruction, after the Palestinian terrorist group stormed across the border fence on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing 240 hostages.

Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza say thousands of people have been killed during Israel’s military campaign, although experts have cast doubt on the reliability of such figures. which among other concerns do not distinguish between civilian and terrorist deaths.

Biden’s administration says it has pushed Israel to reduce civilian casualties. Israel says it will continue its war effort until all the hostages are freed and Hamas is incapacitated to the point that it no longer poses a major threat to the Israeli people.