Senator Rick Scott says Israel and Ukraine funding should be separate

TAMPA, Fla. - The Israeli assault on Hamas terrorists in Gaza has led some to question whether innocent Palestinians could be killed.

Sen. Rick Scott said their lives hinge on the actions of one group, and not Israel.

"The persons responsible for any atrocities in Gaza is Hamas. They're the ones that have caused this. They're the ones that went in and killed 1,400 people and 33 Americans," said Scott.

And the senator argues there is nearly universal support for sending immediate aide to Israel to help them root out Hamas terrorists and cripple their networks of tunnels and communication systems.

READ: Israel steps up air and ground attacks in Gaza, cuts off territory's communications

"Israel has no choice," shared Scott. "If they don't go destroy Hamas, then this will happen next week or the next week or next year."

But he said assistance to Ukraine is more complicated, especially given the involvement of the UN.

Some say innocent Palestinians could be killed while Israel fights Hamas terrorist in Gaza.

He agrees with new house speaker, Mike Johnson, who said the two packages should be separate.

The White House and senate leaders, Democratic and Republican, say they should be all-in-one, and passed by the Nov. 17th funding deadline.

READ: Israeli troops conduct brief raid in Gaza to 'prepare' for expected full-scale incursion

"I don't know many people who don't want Ukraine to win," said Scott. "I don't know many people who don't want Russia to lose. But we gotta look at how we are spending the money."

Since 2010, Scott has visited Israel five times as a governor and senator, most recently this summer. But in 2019, he visited one of the neighborhoods that was attacked by terrorists on Oct. 7th.

He said one family he met was out of the country, but many of their neighbors were killed.

"I've talked to some of these survivors, like this one young girl," said Scott. "She talked her friends into going to a festival because she'd been to the one before, and they're dead, or they're kidnapped."