During more than four hours of Senate testimony Tuesday, Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth faced a single question about the war in Gaza — and only in response to a Code Pink protest.

Hegseth and Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio touted unconditional support for Israel during confirmation hearings this week, but they faced little scrutiny over the U.S. response to civilian casualties and the risk of mass starvation in Gaza.

Instead, Hegseth fended off questions about his personal character, and Rubio warned about the danger of China. Democrats mostly stuck to a list of questions that did not highlight divisions within their own party.

Pointing to the Hegseth hearing, one advocate lobbying Congress to put more pressure on Israel said he was dismayed by the lack of substance.

“The frustrating part about watching that hearing was the lack of concern for how the United States military could really impact billions of people on this planet,” said Hassan El-Tayyab of the Quaker advocacy group Friends Committee on National Legislation. “There were so many pressing issues and existential issues to the United States, our allies, and the planet at large that were not addressed.”

Since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks, sitting Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III........

© The Intercept