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Images of emaciated Palestinian children enveloped in a hunger crisis prompted by an Israeli military blockade of Gaza cutting off basic necessities have proliferated on the internet, raising the volume of calls for the U.S. to reassess its traditionally strong alliance with the nation led by conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Gaza’s Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government but staffed by medical professionals who have kept detailed records, says over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed and another 145,000-plus have been wounded since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023 -- nearly 12% of the Gaza population. United Nations World Food Programme assessments show that a quarter of the population is facing famine-like conditions.

Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice, both R-W.Va., voted with all other Senate Republicans Wednesday to handily defeat resolutions introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., designed to halt the sale of certain offensive weapons to Israel.

A United Nations special committee to investigate Israeli practices affecting Palestinians that U.N. General Assembly member states like the U.S. halt all offensive arms transfers, including weapons and ammunition, to Israel, and leverage their influence to get Israel to stop infringing on Palestinians’ human rights.

But although the Senate resolutions failed in 70-27 and 73-24 votes, a majority of Senate Democrats supported the resolutions for the first time after similar past attempts by Sanders to target arms sales to Israel.

American approval of Israel’s military action in Gaza hit a new low in a the day before those votes by leading public opinion researcher Gallup, which pegged that approval at 32% — 10 points lower than the last measurement in September. It was the lowest reading since Gallup first posed the question in November 2023, the company said, adding that disapproval has reached 60%. Fifty-two percent of Americans viewed Netanyahu unfavorably in Gallup’s latest polling, his highest unfavorable rating since 1997.

Two Israel-based human rights groups said Monday Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza in what is believed to be the first of such accusations among local organizations against their home country.

“Nothing prepares you for the realization that you are part of a society committing genocide. This is a deeply painful moment for us,� Yuli Novak, executive director of B’Tselem, an independent, nonpartisan group that works to document human rights violations in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, said in a statement. “But as Israelis and Palestinians who live here and witness the reality every day, we have a duty to speak the truth as clearly as possible: Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians.�

West Virginia’s members of Congress have been among Israel’s most vocal supporters throughout its war with Hamas.

A spokesperson for Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., sided with Israel when asked by the Gazette-Mail what consequences, if any, Congress or the Trump administration should impose on the Israeli government for it prolonging food shortages in Gaza. Miller spokesperson Matthew Donnellan alluded to 251 hostages taken by Hamas-led militants in Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war, roughly one-fifth of which are believed to remain in captivity in the Gaza Strip.

“Every Israeli hostage must be immediately and unconditionally returned. Then Israel can withdraw from Gaza and work to build a lasting peace in the region,� Donnellan said.

Spokespeople for Capito, Justice and Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., did not respond to requests for comment.

“[H]istory will condemn those who fail to act in the face of these horrors,� Sanders said in a Senate floor speech Wednesday.

'Israel is intentionally causing death'

The signs of dwindling U.S. support for Israel come after many international reports of human rights violations committed by the Netanyahu-led government.

A published by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner found “direct evidence of genocidal intent� was “uniquely present,� citing Netanyahu referring to Palestinians as “monsters� and “Amalek,� a reference to a biblical passage in which God commands Saul to “go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not.�

The report found that a heightened Israeli blockade of Gaza was causing lack of hygiene and overcrowded shelters that could cause more deaths than bombings and that a quarter of Gaza’s population could die from preventable health conditions within a year.

The International Court of Justice, the main judicial arm of the U.N., issued a finding Israel’s continued presence in occupied Palestinian territory was unlawful.

“Israel is intentionally causing death, starvation and serious injury, using starvation as a method of war and inflicting collective punishment on the Palestinian population,� the U.N. special committee investigating Israeli practices impacting Palestinian human rights said in a September 2024 statement.

The committee found that threatening conditions imposed on Palestinians in Gaza through warfare and humanitarian aid restrictions were resulting in physical destruction, increased miscarriages and stillbirths.

'Economy of genocide'

A called out corporations aiding what it called an Israeli “economy of genocide.�

Maryland-headquartered defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp. has played a leading role in supporting Israel’s defense procurement program, with its fighter jets providing unprecedented and frequently unguided aerial power to drop an estimated 85,000 tons of bombs killing and injuring over 179,000 Palestinians, that report stated.

The report noted Israel customizes and maintains its F-35 fighter jet fleet in partnership with Lockheed Martin and domestic companies.

Fossil fuel giants BP and Chevron were singled out in the report as the largest contributors to Israel imports of crude oil and cited an estimate that Chevron-linked supplies comprise more than 70% of Israeli energy consumption.

“The same infrastructure that these companies supply resources into has serviced the Israeli military and its energy-intensive tech-driven obliteration of Gaza,� the report stated. “The ostensibly civilian nature of such infrastructure does not exonerate a company from responsibility.�

Thousands in campaign support from Israel-linked sources 

Representatives of those companies and pro-Israel groups have been prolific supporters of West Virginia’s congressional delegation.

Capito’s campaign committee reported receiving $62,523 via political action committee conduit through the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a prolific pro-Israel lobbying group known as AIPAC, in the 2026 election cycle to date in the committee’s latest finance report filed last month.

The AIPAC PAC conduit earmarked many contributions from individuals, most from out of state, per Capito’s campaign committee. Earmarked contributions are contributions that a supporter directs to a clearly identified candidate or authorized committee through a conduit or intermediary. If the PAC doesn’t control which committee receives the contribution, its contribution limit isn’t affected.

Capito’s campaign committee reported receiving $6,500 this election cycle to date from the employee PAC for Lockheed Martin, $6,500 from the employee PAC for BP North America and $5,000 from executives at Chevron.

Justice’s Senate campaign committee reported receiving $46,500 via earmarks through the PAC for Pro-Israel America, another pro-Israel lobbying group linked to AIPAC, in the 2024 election cycle, when he was on the ballot for and won a six-year term.

Justice’s committee also reported contributions in the last election cycle of $2,500 each from Lockheed Martin and the Chevron Employees PAC -- in addition to $14,500 earmarked through AIPAC’s PAC.

Miller’s campaign committee reported receiving $12,109 in the last election cycle earmarked through AIPAC’s PAC conduit, in addition to $2,000 from the Lockheed Martin Corp. Employees PAC.

In the last election cycle, Moore’s campaign committee reported getting $16,778 earmarked through AIPAC’s PAC and another $5,000 directly from the PAC, $5,000 earmarked via the Pro-Israel America PAC, $2,500 from the Chevron Employees PAC and $1,000 from the Lockheed Martin Corp. Employees PAC.

'Our ally and friend, Israel'

Capito and Justice are among 23 Senate Republicans who co-introduced the , a bill referred to the Foreign Relations Committee in April that would cut off U.S. funding to U.N. agencies that expel, downgrade, suspend or otherwise restrict Israel participation.

In July 2024, Capito joined 11 fellow Senate Republicans in introducing stalled legislation in the that would have barred the federal government from contracting with entities who boycott the State of Israel.

“I’m proud to join my colleagues in this effort to make certain the U.S. does not engage in business with government contractors who boycott our ally and friend, Israel,� Capito said in a July 2024 statement.

Support among members of West Virginia’s congressional delegation for punishing those who boycott Israel predates the Israel-Hamas war.

In 2021, then-West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore included , legislation prohibiting state agencies and political subdivisions from entering into contracts with any entity identified as participating in the Boycott, Divest or Sanctions (BDS) movement, as evidence of a “successful� state legislative session that year in a news release applauding some session legislation.

BDS supporters have targeted companies supplying Israel with arms and other equipment used against Palestinians and called on governments and banks to withdraw their support from Israeli companies they say have been complicit in illegal activity in occupied Palestinian territory. They’ve denied claims the movement is anti-Semitic, instead comparing their efforts to similar boycott, divestment and sanction tactics during the apartheid era in South Africa.

The movement holds that Israel has overseen a regime of apartheid and occupation over the Palestinian people, enabled by international support.

'New ways to destroy Palestinian lives'

After President Donald Trump retook office on Jan. 20, his administration approved nearly $12 billion in major foreign military sales to Israel in less than six weeks, following billions more spent on Israeli military operations under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden.

In Gaza, the costs appear to be incalculably more.

“Not only has the international community failed to stop this genocide,� Agnès Callamard, secretary general of global human rights group Amnesty International, said in a July 3 statement, “but it has also allowed Israel to constantly reinvent new ways to destroy Palestinian lives in Gaza and trample on their human dignity.�