Authorization for Military Force Against Hamas Being Drafted in House: Rep. McCaul

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) speaks with reporters after the House Republicans' meeting securing the GOP nomination for House Speaker in Washington on Oct. 11, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

With uncertainty swirling around the extent of the United States’ support for Israel in its war with Hamas, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said his committee is drafting legislation to authorize U.S. military force, should the need arise.

Mr. McCaul first disclosed the existence of the draft—officially dubbed an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF)—to CNN on Monday.

“I hope I never have to mark this bill up,” he added. “But we have a situation in the Middle East that’s growing day by day with intensity, and if Hezbollah gets involved, Iran has already threatened … if IDF [Israel Defense Forces] goes into Gaza that they’re going to come out.”

The congressman would not say if the White House had asked his committee for the authorization but stressed that it was only being drafted “in the event it’s necessary.”

As for what that authorization might include, he said he was hesitant to include force against Iran in the draft and would prefer to focus on “Iran proxies” like Hamas, Hezbollah, and other militant groups.

“But if Iran gets directly involved, then we would have to put them on the list,” he added.

Sponsor of Terror

Hamas, a terrorist organization that controls the Gaza Strip, waged a deadly assault on Israel on Oct. 7, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,400 Israeli citizens, most of whom were civilians.

The atrocities experienced by the victims—of which many were children—included rapes, mutilations, beheadings, and some were even burned alive. According to IDF, at least 199 individuals are still being held hostage in Gaza.

While the White House maintains that no evidence has been uncovered linking Iran to the deadly attack, the nation’s financial support of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad is well-known and has been documented for decades.

Seeking to hold Iran accountable for that support, Mr. McCaul introduced another bill on Tuesday that would permanently freeze the $6 billion in Iranian assets that the Biden administration released to the country in September as part of a prisoner swap.

“No matter what assurances the Biden administration makes, the president of Iran has said he would use this money however he wants,” the congressman noted in a statement.

“Iran is the largest state sponsor of terror in the world,” he added. “We cannot give them another $6 billion for their terror operations, which include ongoing support for Hamas’ unprovoked war against our ally Israel.”

‘Heightened Readiness’

News of the draft AUMF preceded the Pentagon’s announcement Tuesday that it had issued a “prepare to deploy” order to roughly 2,000 personnel, placing them in a state of “heightened readiness.”

The move, according to Defense Department (DoD) spokeswoman Sabrina Singh, “increases DoD’s ability to respond quickly to the evolving security environment in the Middle East.”

While she stressed that no official decision had been made to deploy forces, she added that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin would continue to assess the situation.

Ms. Singh’s statement came just one day after she declined to confirm reports that the Pentagon had chosen 2,000 troops for potential deployment to the Middle East to assist Israel.

At the time, she stressed that any military personnel on the ground would be there to “advise and consult” on hostage recovery efforts.

“This is the extent of information we have to offer at this time, and I … just can’t get into more specifics on how many people and any further details on our intelligence sharing,” she added.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.