Chuck Schumer leading Israel Senate trip to show support following Hamas rampage

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will lead fellow senators on a weekend visit to Israel to show support for the country’s government following the massacre of more than 1,300 people by Hamas terrorists last week.

The New York Democrat’s delegation follows the visits of Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as the Israel Defense Forces warn Gaza residents to evacuate the northern part of the Hamas-ruled territory.

“Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest ranking Jewish elected official in the United States history, will be leading a bipartisan [congressional delegation] to Israel this weekend to show the United States’ unwavering support for Israel,” said Schumer spokesman Angelo Roefaro.

“There, Leader Schumer will meet with the new unity government including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, as well as President Isaac Herzog. Sen. Schumer will discuss what resources the United States can provide to support Israel on all fronts.”

It’s unclear how many other senators will be joining the trip.

American leaders have shown support for Israel as an unknown number of US citizens are believed held hostage by Hamas inside Gaza. The terrorist group swept into southern Israel Oct. 7 in a surprise attack, massacring local communities and concert-goers and abducting an estimated 150 people.

The White House said Thursday that 27 US citizens died in the attacks and 14 remain missing, of whom a handful are believed to be hostages.

Hamas has called for an international “day of rage” Friday — sparking fears of lone-wolf terrorist attacks by sympathizers — and threatened this week to begin murdering hostages on camera.

Thousands of Americans, meanwhile, are attempting to flee the conflict zone as Hamas continues to launch rockets into Israel and as the Jewish state’s military is expected to invade Gaza.

The New York Times on Friday reported new details of Iran’s alleged role in training Hamas members for the incursion. Two Iranian sources told the Times that Iran-backed Hezbollah trained Hamas members in Lebanon and Syria.

The Palestinian terrorists learned how to use paragliders in Lebanon and were trained in Syria on how to storm Israeli homes and take hostages, the sources said.

One Iranian source said that Hamas isolated members taking part in the attacks four days beforehand and confiscated their electronics to ensure secrecy.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps gave a green light to the operation less than one week before the attacks during a meeting in Beirut, citing Hamas and Hezbollah sources.

Biden administration officials say publicly they have yet to determine Iran’s alleged role but have described Tehran as “complicit” in the slaughter.

Bipartisan members of Congress are calling on the Biden administration to refreeze $6 billion in Iranian funds from oil sales after Biden in August approved its release for food and medical purchases in exchange for the release of five US citizens.

A Treasury Department official told House Democrats Thursday that the Biden administration has reached a quiet understanding with Qatar, which holds the $6 billion, that the money won’t be distributed, though the White House has refused to confirm that.