McCaul preparing authorization of military force against Hamas, Iran proxies

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said he is drafting legislation to authorize the use of U.S. military force should the war between Israel and Hamas widen. 

McCaul first told CNN on Monday of the draft Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) “in the event it’s necessary” due to a wider proxy war with Iran.   

McCaul would not say if the White House had requested the committee to draw up the AUMF. 

“I don’t want to confirm that. It’s just that there is concern … we’re currently drafting one in the event it’s necessary,” he said. 

“I hope I never have to mark this bill up,” McCaul added. “But we have a situation in the Middle East that’s growing day by day with intensity.”

The lawmaker noted recent threats from Iran to get involved if the Israel Defense Forces go into Gaza or continue the barrage of airstrikes.

U.S. officials have expressed fears that the Iran-backed Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group, will open a second front in the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. 

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, stormed Israel Oct. 7 in a coordinated attack that killed about 1,300 people. In response, Israel has rained bombs down on Gaza, killing more than 3,000 Palestinian civilians. 

An additional 30 Americans have been killed in the fighting, and several others are suspected to have been taken hostage. 

The situation has escalated to the point that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin this week ordered 2,000 U.S. troops to prepare to deploy in support of Israel in an advisory and medical role.   

The Pentagon has also sent two carrier strike groups to the eastern Mediterranean to act as a deterrent amid concerns Iran-backed proxies such as Hezbollah could try to enter the war.  

President Biden is also heading to the Middle East on Wednesday — ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive into the Gaza Strip — for a face-to-face intervention with leaders in the region. 

The precautions come as fighting has also broken out along the Israel-Lebanon border as skirmishes continued between the Israeli military and Hezbollah. 

Top National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN Tuesday that an AUMF is not “an active part of the conversation right now.” 

Biden “believes that this is exactly the right time to go to Israel and to go to Jordan” to discuss humanitarian concerns, the release of hostages being held by Hamas, and “Israeli plans and intentions going forward,” Kirby said.  

However, McCaul told CNN later Tuesday he had “been in contact” with the White House about an AUMF.

“They do not have authorities to hit Hezbollah or Hamas or any of Iran’s proxies, even the Iran-backed militias in Iraq, for instance. So, this is something we are looking at,” he said.