As Israel predicts the potential of a longer ground war with Hamas, U.S. lawmakers are trying to get a clearer picture of the situation.
Multiple U.S. senators recently toured the Middle East including meeting with Hamas victims in Israel. CBN News sat down for an interview with Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) shortly after she returned from the trip.
"When we sat down with families of the people who are being held hostage, I sat in that room not as a United States Senator but as I listened, I listened as a mother, as a wife, and a daughter, and a sister, knowing the unimaginable tragedy they were expressing to us," Britt told CBN News.
Britt said those meetings stuck with her as she and other lawmakers are prepared to craft an aid package to help Israel. She said by hearing the stories from victims and seeing the images, she believed she was looking at pure evil firsthand when it comes to Hamas.
"When I watch the videos, I think it's important for us to continue to tell the story as hard as it is. The videos that were taken by the Hamas terrorists show that there is pure evil that exists. And it exists right there. I am a believer that people of all religions can coexist peacefully and with prosperity, but I do not believe that good can co-exist with evil. Because I believe when evil raises its head, we must look it in the eyes and take it down," she said.
Britt has echoed a growing chorus of bipartisan lawmakers calling on the Biden administration to increase pressure on Iran with sanctions and freezing assets.
She also supports the U.S. defensive strikes in the region if American troops are attacked. U.S. airstrikes targeted Iranian-backed militant groups in Syria late last week.
"We have to actually achieve peace through strength. There are deterrents that the President has put there outside the coast of Israel and I appreciate those efforts. We've got to make sure as we are seeing these strikes occur," Britt said. "Particularly, if they come on to military bases of the U.S. that we respond with defensive strikes. And we've got to make sure that we continue to place this pressure, make sure our military has what it needs, Israel has what they need."
The Alabama senator also said she believes the Palestinian people will be better off if Hamas is eliminated.
"The Palestinian people are not the enemy of America or the enemy of Israel. It is Hamas. It is radical terrorists who have brutally slaughtered innocent Israelis and Americans, and it's not just that. Hamas is actually the enemy of the innocent people of Gaza. So when we take Hamas out, when Hamas is taken out, ultimately that's going to be good for the people of Gaza to lead a free and prosperous life," she said.
Britt is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the panel will begin looking at the defense spending request from the White House, which includes aid to Israel, this week.
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