Jack Lew clears key hurdle to clinching confirmation as US ambassador to Israel

Senate Foreign Relations Committee endorses President's nominee as Gaza death toll skyrockets

Jack Lew, former US treasury secretary and nominee for ambassador to Israel, during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee nomination hearing. Bloomberg

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza

The US Senate foreign relations committee on Wednesday voted to advance Jack Lew to be Washington's ambassador to Israel, in a bid to fill the post after historic violence in Gaza and Israel expedited his nomination process.

The committee voted 12-9 in favour of Mr Lew, with unified Democrats voting in favour and Republicans stiffly opposed to his confirmation.

The endorsement is a key hurdle before the issue goes to the broader Senate for an official confirmation vote. It comes as Israeli strikes in Gaza led the death toll there to rise to more than 6,500 on Wednesday, as the UN Security Council prepared to vote on proposals by the US and Russia to take action on the conflict.

Outside the hearing room, committee chairman Ben Cardin told reporters that getting the nomination to the Senate floor for an official vote is “our highest priority”.

“We have a lot of priorities in our committee, with ambassadors and confirmations of critical positions at the State Department. So we have a lot of priorities. But obviously, this is so visible and so important at this particular moment,” Mr Cardin said.

Mr Cardin pushed forward Mr Lew's nomination hearing as Washington works to mitigate the intensifying Israel-Gaza war.

Republican Senator Rand Paul was the only Republican to join Democrats in favour of Mr Lew's nomination.

Mr Cardin said he was “not surprised” that Mr Paul voted alongside Democrats and that outside the committee “there are conversations taking place” to bring more Republicans on board for the general vote.

Mr Lew was treasury secretary under former president Barack Obama, and faced opposition from Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee over his support of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal – which Israel strongly opposed. Republican committee members accused him of “misleading” Congress about the Iran nuclear deal negotiations.

Earlier this week, conservative Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who broke party lines and opposed the Iran nuclear deal in 2015, said in a statement that he endorsed Mr Lew's nomination. That key endorsement is likely to give Mr Lew the support needed to clinch confirmation in a narrowly divided Senate.

“I have known Jack Lew to be an honest and straightforward person throughout his many years in public service, and we have remained friends through those years despite our differing views on the Iran deal,” Mr Manchin said.

“Jack has agreed to support pushing to enforce and strengthen sanctions and other points of leverage including snapback against Iran for its support of terrorism and other destabilising activities.”

The US has not had an ambassador to Israel since Tom Nides left the post in July, leaving a hole in Washington's diplomatic presence in the Middle East as Israel responds to the Hamas attack.

At his nomination hearing last week, Mr Lew promised to “work to prevent other state or non-state actors from expanding this conflict to new fronts” and to “address the humanitarian crisis facing infants and millions of Gazans who are being used as human shields”.

He also vowed to continue Washington's policy of support for Israel and said he “firmly rejects” the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, known as BDS.

The latest from the Israel-Gaza war – in pictures

Palestinians check the damage at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters

Israeli soldiers and military vehicles near the border with Gaza. EPA

Palestinians injured in Israeli air raids arrive at Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. Getty Images

Protesters call for a ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas since the October 7 attack. AFP

The protest was held near the headquarters of the Israeli Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv. AFP

Smoke and flames rise from buildings after an Israeli strike on Gaza City. AFP

Destruction in Gaza City after an Israeli air strike. AFP

A wounded Palestinian is taken into Al Shifa hospital after Israeli air strikes on Gaza City. AP

Israelis at a cemetery in Holon during a funeral take cover as a siren warns of incoming rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. AP

Posters of hostages abducted by Hamas form part of an installation consisting of 224 light pillars erected by the Jerusalem municipality outside Teddy Stadium. AFP

Supporters of Palestine hold a rally in New York's financial district to demand that American financial institutions stop financing weapons manufacturing. AFP

Army rescue crews assess the damage after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a building in Rishon LeTsiyon, Israel. Getty Images

Israeli strikes as seen from a tent camp sheltering displaced Palestinians. Reuters

Israeli armoured vehicles take part in an operation, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, at a location given as the northern Gaza Strip. Reuters

A Palestinian man is comforted as he mourns the death of his daughter and his wife, who were killed by Israeli strikes. Reuters

Satellite view of damaged areas in the Beit Hanoun district of Gaza as a result of fighting between Israel and Hamas. Reuters

Beit Hanoun was hit by Israeli missiles. Reuters

Two brothers on a stretcher after being rescued from beneath the rubble of a destroyed area in Gaza. EPA

Israeli security forces gather along a cordoned-off street where an apartment building was hit by a rocket fired from Gaza, in Rishon LeZion, near Tel Aviv. AFP

Rescuers in front of an apartment building hit by a rocket in the Israeli city of Rishon LeZion. AFP

Red Crescent Society employees and volunteers handle humanitarian aid bound for Gaza at a warehouse in Arish, Egypt. EPA

Men lower one of the coffins during the funeral of British-Israelis Lianne Sharabi and her daughters Noiya Sharabi, 16, and Yahel Sharabi, 13, in Kfar Harif, Israel. EPA

An Israeli soldier in a ruined house in the kibbutz of Beeri, near the border with Gaza. EPA

The aftermath of wide-scale strikes, which Israel says struck Hamas emergency operational apparatus, including war rooms, infrastructure and military headquarters, in Gaza. Reuters

Palestinians search for casualties after Israeli attacks on houses in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters

Rescuers look for casualties in Khan Younis. Reuters

Palestinian Ali Daba and his wife have separated their children and given them bracelets to help identify them in case they are killed in Israeli strikes. Their daughter shows her bracelet at their shelter in Khan Younis. Reuters

In Tel Aviv, teddy bears with their eyes covered and signs of injury go on show to highlight the young children and babies missing, believed to be being held by Hamas. Getty

Palestinians near the rubble of a building following overnight Israeli strikes on the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

Members of the Palestine Red Crescent Society distribute aid in Deir Al Balah, in the Gaza Strip. Reuters

Pro-Israel, left, and pro-Palestine protesters face off during a demonstration in reaction to the Gaza conflict, in central Atlanta, Georgia. EPA

Orit Meir, the mother of Almog Meir Jan who was taken hostage by Hamas while attending the Nova festival in Israel, at the family's home in Or Yehuda. Reuters

A soldier puts on protective gear in Ramle, Israel, as he prepares to identify those killed by Hamas during the October 7 attack. Getty Images

Palestinians wounded in Israeli air strikes arrive at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. Getty Images

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, centre, speaks with the father of one of the hostages held by Hamas, before a UN Security Council meeting in New York. EPA

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attend a meeting in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. EPA

Survivors of Israel's bombardment of Gaza being treated at a trauma ward at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. AFP

Smoke rises after an air strike on Gaza, as seen from southern Israel. Reuters

A woman holds placards identifying one of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas during a demonstration in Tel Aviv. AFP