Gregory Meeks: “Let me say this: The United States has values. What is taking place and what took place in Israel and is taking place in…”

“Let me say this: The United States has values. What is taking place and what took place in Israel and is taking place in Gaza right now is why we are fighting so hard to make sure that we have a supplemental that includes humanitarian aid. We know that there are people in Gaza, Palestinians, who are not part of Hamas. Everyone wants to make sure, as we are doing in this pause, that humanitarian aid is getting to them. It shows the best of who we are as Americans. It is also so in Iran. Every Iranian is not part of the regime. In fact, the regime is cruel and does not provide humanitarian aid to many of its citizens. We don't want to be like the regime. We want to show our humanity. Yes, when human beings are suffering, we want to make sure that we get in humanitarian aid so that we can take care of them. That is what is happening right now. That is why we are having the pause in the Middle East, in Gaza. Doing the hostage exchange, bringing people home, is what we should be doing. What we are also doing is bringing in humanitarian aid to those individuals who Hamas would never aid. So people around the world will respect and know who we are, we should never give up on our values. The money that we are talking about is not going to be used or getting into the hands of the Iranian regime. We are talking about trying to show that we have care and humanity for those who are the victims of the regime.…”