{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=F18A3B9D-60AF-4271-A7D0-2855F45B7989", "Thune Discusses Bipartisan Trip to Middle East", "2023-10-25", "2023", "2023-10", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", "thune", "https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "Click here to watch the video.\n\nWASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke on the Senate floor about his visit to the Middle East as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation trip to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Yesterday, Thune spoke about the need for the United States to support Israel as it works to eliminate Hamas terrorists in Gaza, and he called on the Biden administration to prioritize freeing American hostages. Thune also joined Special Report with Bret Baier on Fox News and Stuart Varney on Fox Business to discuss Iran\u2019s blatant role in fostering and supporting terrorism in the Middle East.\n\nThune\u2019s remarks below (as prepared for delivery):\n\n\u201cMr. President, early yesterday morning I returned from a whirlwind trip to the Middle East as part of a bipartisan CODEL, or congressional delegation, to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.\n\n\u201cThe trip was a direct response to Hamas\u2019 savage attack on Israel.\n\n\u201cThe CODEL, led by my friend Senator Lindsey Graham, brought together 10 senators from both parties to show the United States\u2019 support for Israel and to demonstrate U.S. commitment to protecting our now-threatened national interests in the region.\n\n\u201cOur message was united:\n\n\u201cThe United States stands with Israel.\n\n\u201cIran is on notice, and it must stand down.\n\n\u201cAnd we need to get hostages freed and Americans out of harm\u2019s way.\n\n\u201cWe are committed to seeing Hamas defeated so that a new chapter of prosperity for Israel and its Arab neighbors can begin, of which normalized relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia would be a keystone.\n\n\u201cOur engagements on the ground included frank and candid discussions with heads of state, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and our U.S. embassy teams on the ground.\n\n\u201cOur day in Tel Aviv began with meeting the families of hostages being held in Gaza, including Americans, who shared their painful stories.\n\n\u201cAs a parent and grandparent, it is heartbreaking to see and hear the grief of these family members.\n\n\u201cLater that day, we met with Israeli defense officials for an update on the war.\n\n\u201cWe were shown video evidence of the unnerving atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists \u2013 horrific images I will not soon forget.\n\n\u201cMr. President, our meetings made clear the absolute imperative to see Hamas defeated.\n\n\u201cHamas\u2019 attack has been likened to Israel\u2019s own September 11.\n\n\u201cBut Prime Minister Netanyahu made a point that is especially chilling for Americans, but that every critic of Israel must hear.\n\n\u201cHe pointed out that on 9/11, our enemy was thousands of miles away.\n\n\u201cIn Israel, their enemy is only a kilometer away.\n\n\u201cMr. President, for more than 15 years, Israel has had to live every day with a terrorist organization on its border whose sole mission in life is to kill Jews and to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.\n\n\u201cAnd during that time Hamas has loomed as a persistent threat to Israel, attacking, kidnapping, and killing Israelis.\n\n\u201cBut the barbarism and brutality Hamas displayed in its October 7 attacks took its evil to new heights.\n\n\u201cAnd now Israel knows what it has to do.\n\n\u201cIt has to wipe Hamas off the face of the earth.\n\n\u201cFor the Israelis, this is existential.\n\n\u201cIsrael\u2019s cause is just, and its resolve is firm.\n\n\u201cAnd it should have every peace-loving nation in the world on its side.\n\n\u201cNow, how Israel goes about that mission matters.\n\n\u201cIt needs to be done in a way that minimizes civilian casualties.\n\n\u201cThe Palestinians living in Gaza are also victims of Hamas\u2019 reign of terror.\n\n\u201cHamas has made it clear that the only value it places on the lives of Palestinians is to use them as fodder to direct attention away from its atrocities and to try to turn public sentiment \u2013 especially in western media and the Arab street \u2013 against Israel.\n\n\u201cCase in point: Hamas\u2019 disproven claim that Israel struck a hospital, which sparked protests and riots in a number of countries.\n\n\u201cIsraelis know that there are innocent Palestinians trapped in this fight, and that civilian casualties and a humanitarian crisis could drive more Palestinians toward extremism.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s why Israel is taking measures to protect innocents in Gaza \u2013 although its efforts are being undermined by Hamas, which has discouraged Palestinians from complying with Israel\u2019s evacuation order.\n\n\u201cThe U.S. and other peace-loving nations in the region and beyond need to give Israel space to take the fight to \u2013 and eradicate \u2013 Hamas.\n\n\u201cBecause if Hamas and its reign of terror is allowed to continue, no nation in the region or beyond will be able to live in peace and security.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s really that simple.\n\n\u201cAnd one final but important point: Hamas might claim to represent Palestinians, but its violent actions do nothing to benefit the Palestinian people.\n\n\u201cThe only people who benefit from this brutal bloodshed are the ayatollahs in Iran, whose goal is to bring chaos, violence, and death to all who don\u2019t share their extreme and militant religious ideology \u2013 which, I might add, includes wiping Israel off the face of the earth.\n\n\u201cLook no further than Hamas, 90 percent of whose military budget comes from Iran.\n\n\u201cOr Hezbollah, the terrorist organization on Israel\u2019s northern border with Lebanon, which is also armed and financed by Iran.\n\n\u201cThen there are the Houthis in Yemen, who in the aftermath of October 7 fired missiles and drones headed for Israel, likely at the direction of Iran.\n\n\u201cThe Shia militias who are attacking American soldiers in Iraq and Syria.\n\n\u201cThe killing, by Russians, of innocent civilians in Ukraine, with drones supplied by Iran.\n\n\u201cThrough its proxies, Iran is literally getting away with murder.\n\n\u201cTo the Iranian regime, we say, \u2018We\u2019re on to you.\u2019\n\n\u201cAnd in addition to working with regional partners to get American hostages and citizens out of Gaza, the Biden administration must clearly articulate to the Iranians that if they do not stand down, or if they greenlight the escalation of this war, the United States and our allies will be forced to respond \u2013 forcefully.\n\n\u201cThe movement of U.S. firepower to the region should make that point very clear to Tehran.\n\n\u201cMr. President, the attacks on October 7 represent a kind of evil that the world hasn\u2019t seen in generations.\n\n\u201cAnd it must be confronted, and contained.\n\n\u201cIf it\u2019s not, we could see death and destruction on a scale akin to the horrors of the last century.\n\n\u201cHistory is watching.\n\n\u201cMr. President, I yield the floor.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:43:12Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=F18A3B9D-60AF-4271-A7D0-2855F45B7989"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6110569704324007, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": 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