President Biden’s White House is facing a slew of fresh criticism from fellow Democrats over its decision to bypass Congress for a second time to send aid to Israel. 

Hardline Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., called the move ‘indefensible’ on Tuesday.

‘This is morally indefensible. How can we expect Netanyahu’s government to stop the mass killing of civilians and calls for ethnic cleansing if we continue to supply the weapons used to carry it out?’ Omar wrote in an X post.

‘Dozens of humanitarian and national organizations recently urged the Administration not to supply *these specific munitions* on the grounds that they are being used indiscriminately to target civilians—in violation of U.S. and international law.’

This comes on the heels of a rebuke from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a Biden ally and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

‘Just as Congress has a crucial role to play in all matters of war and peace, Congress should have full visibility over the weapons we transfer to any other nation,’ Kaine said over the weekend.

‘Unnecessarily bypassing Congress means keeping the American people in the dark. We need a public explanation of the rationale behind this decision—the second such decision this month.’

Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., who like Omar is part of the progressive House ‘Squad,’ accused the White House of hypocrisy in bypassing Congress while also condemning Israeli officials’ comments as too extreme.

‘The White House cannot have it both ways: calling on the Israeli government to uphold international law while bypassing Congress to send weapons that are leading to violations of international law,’ Bush wrote on X. ‘How many innocent people must die before [Biden] will demand a ceasefire?’

Similarly, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, said on Monday, ‘Biden Admin calls for fewer deaths [in Gaza], while again bypassing Congress to send more arms to Netanyahu, who’ll ensure more deaths. Meanwhile, pleas by Israeli hostage families are ignored.’

The State Department announced late last week that Secretary Antony Blinken made an emergency determination to bypass Congress on an emergency arms sale to Israel totaling $147.5 billion. A similar decision was announced on Dec. 9.

The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas was sparked on Oct. 7, when militants from Gaza launched a surprise attack that killed more than 1,000 people – mainly civilians. 

Israel’s responding ground invasion and bombardment has killed more than 22,000 Gazans, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.

Fox News Digital reached out to both the White House and the State Department for comment.

Two Israeli far-right ministers drew rebuke from the U.S. State Department over their remarks regarding the future of Gaza after the war against Hamas comes to an end, in which the officials discussed the voluntary resettling of Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip.

‘The United States rejects recent statements from Israeli Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza. This rhetoric is inflammatory and irresponsible,’ State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Tuesday. ‘We have been told repeatedly and consistently by the Government of Israel, including by the Prime Minister, that such statements do not reflect the policy of the Israeli government. They should stop immediately.’

Smotrich, the current Israeli finance minister, and Ben Gvir, the national security minister, have recently called for Israel to maintain control of the Gaza Strip after the war and for the voluntary – not forcible – resettlement of a large portion of the Palestinian population currently living there.

‘We have been clear, consistent, and unequivocal that Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land, with Hamas no longer in control of its future and with no terror groups able to threaten Israel,’ Miller’s statement continued. ‘That is the future we seek, in the interests of Israelis and Palestinians, the surrounding region, and the world.’ 

Smotrich, one of the senior members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition, on Sunday had called on Palestinians to leave Gaza, allowing Israelis to come in and ‘make the desert bloom.’ 

‘Let’s think out of the box,’ Smotrich said on Sunday. ‘If in Gaza there will be 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs and not 2 million, the entire conversation on ‘the day after’ will look different.’ 

Speaking to members of his Religious Zionism party on Monday, Smotrich doubled down, deeming the ‘correct solution’ to the Israel-Hamas war is ‘to encourage the voluntary migration of Gaza’s residents to countries that will agree to take in the refugees,’ the Times of Israel reported. 

‘Israel will permanently control the territory of the Gaza Strip,’ Smotrich said, adding that Jerusalem cannot allow Gaza to remain a ‘hothouse of 2 million people who want destroy the State of Israel.’ 

‘As long as I am the finance minister, not one shekel will go to the Nazi terrorists in Gaza,’ he said.

Even amid the backlash from the United States, Smotrich argued Wednesday that 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza ‘wake up every morning with a desire to destroy the State of Israel and to slaughter, rape and murder Jews,’ according to The Jerusalem Post. 

In addressing members of his own far-right Otzma Yehudit Party on Monday, Netanyahu’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said the Israel-Hamas war presents an ‘opportunity to concentrate on encouraging the migration of the residents of Gaza.’ 

Billing such an initiative ‘a correct, just, moral and humane solution,’ Gvir added, ‘We cannot withdraw from any territory we are in in the Gaza Strip. Not only do I not rule out Jewish settlement there, I believe it is also an important thing,’ according to the Times of Israel. 

Condemning Smotrich and Ben Gvir’s comments on a potential Palestinian resettlement, veteran Arab Israeli lawmaker MK Ahmad Tibi equated the ministers’ statements to Nazi calls for ‘Lebensraum,’ or living space, and claimed that such rhetoric was ‘inciting genocide.’

‘A day will come and these two senior ministers in the Israeli government will stand before an international tribunal for war crimes,’ Tibi said, according to the Times of Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces say an Israeli hostage was killed in Gaza during an attempt to rescue him from Hamas forces in December, local media reported Wednesday.

The IDF reportedly notified the family of Sahar Baruch this week. They said it is unclear whether Baruch was killed by Israeli forces or by Hamas, despite saying on Dec. 9 that Baruch ‘was murdered by the Hamas terrorist organization.’ 

Even then, however, the IDF noted that they were ‘still verifying and investigating the details regarding the place of his murder.’

Two Israeli soldiers were severely injured during the failed rescue attempt on Dec. 8, according to the Times of Israel.

Baruch’s body reportedly is still being held by Hamas.

Israel believes that more than 130 hostages remain in captivity in Gaza, though the U.S. has cautioned that there is no way to be sure how many of them remain alive.

Israel, the U.S., Qatar, Egypt and Hamas are still in negotiations surrounding a potential second wave of hostage exchanges, though little progress has been made.

Hamas negotiators recently had demanded multiple cease-fires culminating in the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza in exchange for the remaining Israeli hostages, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Israel rejected that offer outright, calling it ‘totally off base.’ Now, the terrorist organization is saying it is open to an exchange of 120 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel for 40 of the hostages.

The negotiations come after Israel announced a partial withdrawal of troops from Gaza. Military officials said the war had entered a new phase requiring more targeted strikes on Hamas militants and fewer mass air strikes and artillery barrages.

That change of pace is in line with requests from President Biden’s administration and Israel’s other Western allies, who had repeatedly sounded alarms about civilian casualties in Gaza.

Multiple Israeli hostages have been killed during the fighting in Gaza since Oct. 7, though it is unclear how many were killed by Israeli attacks. Three male hostages were accidentally killed by Israeli forces after escaping from Hamas when they tried to approach IDF troops in early December.

A U.S.-led coalition of 13 countries issued a warning to Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Wednesday, vowing consequences should the group continue attacks in the Red Sea.

The U.S. was joined by the U.K., Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore and New Zealand in Wednesday’s statement. The nations said that the destabilization of trade throughout the Red Sea is ‘unacceptable’ and vowed consequences.

‘Ongoing Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are illegal, unacceptable, and profoundly destabilizing. There is no lawful justification for intentionally targeting civilian shipping and naval vessels. Attacks on vessels, including commercial vessels, using unmanned aerial vehicles, small boats, and missiles, including the first use of anti-ship ballistic missiles against such vessels, are a direct threat to the freedom of navigation that serves as the bedrock of global trade in one of the world’s most critical waterways,’ the nations wrote.

‘Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews. The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways. We remain committed to the international rules-based order and are determined to hold malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks,’ the statement continued.

There have been roughly two dozen attacks on international shipping by the Houthis since Oct. 19. The Houthis say their attacks are aimed at Israel-linked ships to stop the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

The Houthis have launched missiles at numerous ships in recent weeks and struck a Maersk container vessel on Saturday.

Last month, the U.S. announced the formation of Operation Prosperity Guardian, an international initiative to protect commercial ships traveling through the Red Sea. Since then, approximately 1,200 merchant ships have traveled through the region, and none had been hit by drone or missile strikes until Saturday.

Currently, there are five warships from the U.S., France and the U.K. patrolling the waters of the southern Red Sea and the western Gulf of Aden. The ships have so far shot down a total of 17 drones and four anti-ship ballistic missiles.

Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

Tennessee GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn called on Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., to subpoena Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs as the committee’s ‘first act’ when it resumes business next week.

Fox News Digital obtained Blackburn’s Wednesday letter to Durbin in which she called on the chairman to subpoena the unredacted versions of Epstein’s flight logs and Ghislaine Maxwell’s ‘little black book’ when the committee resumes work.

Epstein, the former financier and convicted sex offender, died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting his sex trafficking trial. His death was ruled a suicide. Maxwell, who was Epstein’s accomplice and former girlfriend, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in 2021 for child sex trafficking.

Blackburn’s letter comes as names from Epstein’s logs are set to be released this week.

The Tennessee senator told Fox News Digital that while she could not say who was on Epstein’s list, it is ‘important for us to keep in mind that this is one list from one trial involving one victim, one judge, and there are many other victims.’

Blackburn said she wanted to get transparency to discover ‘who was involved in what way with Epstein, so that we can begin to break apart this sex trafficking ring and figure out who all was involved with him.’

‘Are they still involved in sex trafficking? Was there any association with cartels?’ she continued. ‘We have and we’re hearing from mayors all across the country about the proliferation of sex trafficking rings and how they have seen this.’

‘We’ve watched human trafficking become about [a] $150 billion-a-year business. And as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Human Rights, it’s important to me that we continue the work we’re doing to fight against this human trafficking.’

Blackburn said Epstein’s list is ‘going to be a mix of individuals’ who were involved with him in some way and that the ‘names of the victims are going to be kept private.’

The Tennessee Republican said she sent a letter to Durbin in which she called on him to subpoena the names on Epstein’s list and in Maxwell’s ‘little black book.’

A Durbin spokesperson in a statement told Fox News Digital that since ‘Senator Durbin became Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, protecting children from sexual exploitation has been one of the Committee’s top priorities.’

‘Last year, he chaired a hearing on [kids’] online safety. And this month, the Committee will hold a hearing with Big Tech CEOs to discuss their failures to protect children from exploitation online,’ the spokesperson stated. ‘Chair Durbin has also worked to ensure that DOJ’s unethical non-prosecution agreement with Jeffrey Epstein is investigated.’

‘As he has made clear in Committee, his Inspector General Access Act would allow the Inspector General to investigate that non-prosecution agreement,’ the spokesperson added.

‘Prior to the Committee’s November 9 Supreme Court ethics subpoena markup, Senator Blackburn had never raised Epstein’s flight logs with Chair Durbin either publicly or privately. During a later markup, Chair Durbin tried to recognize Senator Blackburn multiple times so that she could offer her amendment, but her Republican colleagues prevented her from doing so by filibustering and then invoking an obscure Senate rule to end the markup. Chair Durbin is happy to work with Senator Blackburn on a bipartisan basis to obtain any relevant Epstein records.’

Blackburn noted in her letter that last year she ‘offered an amendment to authorize a subpoena for the complete, unredacted Epstein flight logs’ and said that after Durbin ‘initially stonewalled my repeated requests for this subpoena,’ she ‘was pleased to learn of [Durbin’s] recent change of heart.’

‘The unsealing of these documents, which has the potential to reveal the names of over 170 individuals associated with Jeffrey Epstein, is a critically important step forward in providing Mr. Epstein’s victims the transparency and justice they deserve,’ Blackburn wrote in her letter to Durbin.

‘With this positive development in mind, I am writing to follow up on our previous discussions about subpoenaing the complete, unredacted flight logs from Mr. Epstein’s private jets and helicopter, as well as Ghislaine Maxwell’s unredacted ‘little black book,’’ she continued.

‘Specifically, in a note to Senator Ossoff during a December 14, 2023, subcommittee hearing, you conveyed your ‘intention and willingness’ to work with me ‘on a bipartisan basis to obtain records relevant to the Jeffrey Epstein case,’’ Blackburn wrote.

‘I greatly appreciate that you have agreed to work with me to subpoena these flight logs and the ‘little black book,’ as well as all additional records relevant to this matter,’ she added.

Blackburn wrote that while ‘redacted portions of Epstein’s flight logs and Maxwell’s ‘little black book’ have been released in various lawsuits, the American people have the right to know who flew on Epstein’s plane and who potentially participated in his international sex trafficking ring.’

‘That is why the Judiciary Committee’s very first act when the Senate resumes business next week should be to authorize a subpoena to Jeffrey Epstein’s estate and the FBI to obtain the complete and unredacted Epstein flight logs and Ghislaine Maxwell’s ‘little black book,’’ Blackburn wrote.

‘I hope I can rely on your commitment to work with me to obtain these records so that we can finally bring transparency to the American people and justice to the women and children who Jeffrey Epstein and his associates trafficked and abused,’ she added.

Fox News Digital reached out to Durbin’s office for comment.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby got heated in an exchange with a reporter who suggested the United States has provoked Iran with its naval presence in the Middle East.

During Wednesday’s press briefing, the reporter asked Kirby if President Biden has widened and escalated the Israel-Hamas war by deploying naval forces to counter attacks by Iran-backed proxy groups on shipping vessels.

‘That’s certainly turning things upside down, isn’t it?’ a bewildered Kirby responded. ‘Wouldn’t you consider provocation launching ballistic missiles and drones at commercial [vessels]?’

There have been roughly two dozen attacks on international shipping by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen since Oct. 19. The Houthis say their attacks are aimed at Israel-linked ships to stop the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

Most recently, the Houthis struck a Maersk container vessel on Saturday. Following that attack, a U.S.-led coalition of 13 maritime nations has vowed consequences for the Houthis should they continue to harass vessels in the Red Sea.

Last month, the U.S. announced the formation of Operation Prosperity Guardian, an international initiative to protect commercial ships traveling through the Red Sea. Since then, approximately 1,200 merchant ships have traveled through the region, and none had been hit by drone or missile strikes until Saturday.

Kirby said Prosperity Guardian is a ‘defensive posture’ adopted in response to the Houthi attacks.

‘So you’re denying then that there has been an escalation since the Red Sea patrol,’ the reporter asked.

‘I totally disagree with the premise of your question,’ Kirby replied. ‘It wasn’t the United States who decided to attack commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The Houthis did that. And who are the Houthis backed by? Iran. As I’ve said before, Iran provided the missiles the Houthis are using. We are simply in a defensive posture to protect that commercial shipping and we have in the last 48 hours.’ 

Undeterred, the reporter challenged Kirby and pointed out that Iran launched a frigate into the Red Sea in apparent response to the U.S. 

‘I ask you again, has the United States’ actions supported an escalation as a result?’ she said. 

‘No,’ Kirby answered. 

The U.S.-led coalition opposed to the Houthi attacks consists of the U.K., Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands and New Zealand. In a joint statement, the nations called attacks on trade in the Red Sea ‘unacceptable’ and ‘illegal.’ 

Currently, there are five warships from the U.S., France and the U.K. patrolling the waters of the southern Red Sea and the western Gulf of Aden. The ships have so far shot down a total of 17 drones and four anti-ship ballistic missiles.

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn weighed in on Harvard President Claudine Gay’s resignation from her post Tuesday, saying it was long overdue.

Gay resigned as Harvard University president amid plagiarism allegations and her and other Ivy League presidents’ recent disastrous testimony at a congressional hearing about the antisemitism scandals plaguing their respective campuses.

During a phone interview Tuesday with Fox News Digital, Blackburn said Gay’s resignation was ‘appropriate.’

‘It is appropriate that she stepped down from her post,’ Blackburn said. ‘She should have done it sooner.’

‘I give the House committee a lot of credit for the way they conducted that hearing and the results that it has brought forward,’ the Tennessee senator continued.

‘There is no place for antisemitism on our nation’s college campuses or in this country,’ she added.

Fox News Digital reached out to Harvard University for comment.

Gay announced her resignation in a letter on Tuesday afternoon but will return to the Harvard faculty despite widespread plagiarism allegations against her.

According to the Ivy League school’s newspaper, the Harvard Crimson, Gay’s resignation will bring an end to the shortest Harvard presidency in the university’s history.

The Boston Globe reported that, according to their sources, Harvard Provost Dr. Alan Garber will become interim president.

After her congressional testimony, Gay issued an apology and the university’s board ultimately decided to stick by her despite widespread calls from donors and members of Congress for her ouster. The hearing came in response to rising antisemitism at American universities after Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in southern Israel.

Gay has also been at the center of a scandal in which she was accused of multiple instances of plagiarism in scholarly works.

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and Jennifer Griffin contributed reporting.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., urged his congressional colleagues on Tuesday to reject the more than $10 billion in military funding for Israel that is being considered amid Israeli forces’ ‘grossly disproportionate’ and ‘immoral’ response to Hamas terrorists’ Oct. 7 attack.

Sanders said in a statement that he is calling on Congress to reject the $10.1 billion in ‘unconditional military aid’ being considered for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ‘right-wing government to continue its brutal war against the Palestinian people.’

‘The issue we face with Israel-Gaza is not complicated,’ Sanders said. ‘While we recognize that Hamas’ barbaric terrorist attack began this war, we must also recognize that Israel’s military response has been grossly disproportionate, immoral, and in violation of international law. And, most importantly for Americans, we must understand that Israel’s war against the Palestinian people has been significantly waged with U.S. bombs, artillery shells, and other forms of weaponry. And the results have been catastrophic.’

More than 22,000 people have been killed in Gaza and Israel since Hamas launched its largest attack against the Jewish State in decades on Oct. 7, leading to Israeli forces launching a ground operation into the territory. Civilians have repeatedly been caught in the crossfire, with thousands having been wounded, and many others having been taken hostage by Hamas and raped, tortured or murdered.

Sanders noted that an estimated 57,000 Palestinians have been injured in the conflict.

‘Since the start of the war 1.9 million Palestinian men, women, and children have been driven from their homes – 85% of the total population of Gaza,’ the lawmaker said. According to an analysis of satellite radar data, nearly 70% of the housing units in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged by Israeli bombardment.’

‘Today, not only are the vast majority of people in Gaza homeless, they lack food, water, medical supplies, and fuel,’ he continued. ‘A recent UN report indicates that half of the population of about 2.2 million are at risk of starvation and 90% say that they regularly go without food for a whole day. The chief economist at the World Food Program said the humanitarian disaster in Gaza is among the worst he has ever seen. This cannot be allowed to continue.’

The proposed military aid for Israel is part of an emergency foreign aid package that would also allocate money for Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific region and U.S. border security.

Sanders said U.S. taxpayers ‘must no longer be complicit in destroying the lives of innocent men, women, and children in Gaza.’

Last month, Sanders voted against a procedural motion to advance the $110 billion emergency foreign aid package that includes $10.1 billion for Israel. He was the only member of the Democratic caucus who voted against the measure.

Before the vote, Sanders similarly criticized Netanyahu’s military response and wrote a letter to his Senate Democratic Caucus colleagues asking them to oppose the measure.

‘I do not think we should be appropriating $10.1 billion for the right-wing, extremist Netanyahu government to continue its current military strategy,’ he wrote in the Dec. 5 letter. ‘What the Netanyahu government is doing is immoral, it is in violation of international law, and the United States should not be complicit in those actions.’

Sanders wrote a week later in a letter to President Biden that Israel’s military response in Gaza has become a ‘mass atrocity’ and that it ‘would be irresponsible to provide an additional $10.1 billion in military aid’ beyond defensive systems that protect Israeli civilians against missile and rocket attacks.

The senator warned Biden that ‘Israel’s military campaign will be remembered among some of the darkest chapters of our modern history’ and detailed the death and injury toll at the time. He also said the destruction in Gaza has surpassed the destruction caused by U.S. bombing in Dresden, Germany, and Japanese cities during World War II.