AUGUSTA, Maine — U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said Thursday she and a group of colleagues will visit Israel in the coming days to “show our solidarity with the Israeli people” amid the country’s war with Hamas.
Collins, a Republican, mentioned the planned trip while appearing with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, during a Thursday morning Washington Post Live event focused mostly on health care and prescription drug costs. Collins’ office did not immediately confirm additional details on when the visit will happen, who Collins will travel with and where the group will go, but Punchbowl News reported a bipartisan delegation of eight senators will leave Thursday night to visit Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
“Assisting Israel as it confronts the worst terrorist attacks and the greatest number of deaths since the Holocaust is absolutely critical,” Collins told The Washington Post’s Leigh Ann Caldwell while discussing the Biden administration’s plan to seek $100 billion in aid that may reportedly support Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and U.S.-Mexico border security.
Collins, the vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she had not yet heard a top-line figure for that aid request but expected to be briefed Thursday afternoon on the supplemental spending ask before President Joe Biden’s administration is expected to submit it Friday to Congress.
Collins added she and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, the Senate Appropriations Committee chair, hope to hold a hearing on the supplemental package “perhaps as early as next week,” describing aid for the four areas as “critical.”
While a bipartisan array of lawmakers has expressed support for aiding Israel, numerous House Republicans have soured on giving Ukraine more assistance than it has already received since the Russian invasion began in February 2022. That led several lawmakers to propose combining aid for Israel with assistance to Ukraine in hopes of winning over GOP holdouts, with Biden also proposing border security funds and money for Taiwan to defend itself against China.
Collins visited Israel last year during a trip that included a stop at a Rafael factory that manufactures interceptors for the “Iron Dome” missile defense system and meetings with Israeli officials on foreign policy and defense issues.
Biden visited war-torn Israel on Wednesday to pledge support to the country after Hamas launched a surprise attack Oct. 7 that killed more than 1,400 people, including children slain by militants from the group that seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. Israel has responded with air strikes that have reportedly killed more than 3,400 in Gaza and wounded more than 12,000, with children also among the dead in the Palestinian territory.
Biden also stressed the difference between Hamas and Palestinians who he said are “suffering greatly.” The Democratic president was set to deliver an Oval Office speech Thursday night on Israel and Ukraine.
As its military prepares for a potential ground assault, Israel told Gaza residents to evacuate and said Wednesday it will allow Egypt to deliver limited humanitarian aid to Gaza after Israel cut food, electricity and water to the strip. Hundreds died Tuesday after a rocket struck a Gaza City hospital, with Hamas and Israel trading blame for who fired the missile.
Hamas militants claim they are holding around 250 hostages in Gaza, with roughly a dozen Americans believed to be among the captives.
Collins and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, cosponsored a resolution in support of Israel that the Senate unanimously passed Thursday.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the factory Collins visited in Israel last year. It was a Rafael factory.
