(Courtesy of JNS) Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Tuesday, June 1, that Israel would be requesting a billion dollars in U.S. aid this week, in the aftermath of last month’s fighting with terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with Fox & Friends during a visit to southern Israel, Graham said, “There’s going to be a request made … by the Israelis to the Pentagon for a billion dollars in aid to replenish the Iron Dome batteries that were used to protect Israel.”
The senator, who met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the trip, said the aid money would be “a good investment for the American people.”
“As Hamas tries to destroy Israel, as Iran threatens the existence of the Jewish state, I’m going to keep coming back here and saying more for Israel. Every time somebody tries to destroy Israel, our response is going to be more aid, and it starts with replenishing the Iron Dome,” he said.
Graham toured Ashkelon together with Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) to view some of the damage caused by Hamas during last month’s conflict. They visited the remains of a home struck by a rocket on May 11 that seriously injured an elderly woman, 81, and killed her caretaker, 32.
During the 11-day conflict, terror groups in Gaza launched more than 4,300 rockets at Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Of those, 680 misfired and exploded inside Gaza, while the Iron Dome system intercepted approximately 90% of the projectiles targeting populated Israeli areas, the IDF said.
