Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that it is totally unnecessary for Israel to abide by U.S. standards regarding conditions for military aid offering a rare high-level acknowledgment that the United States does not apply the law to Israel as it does to other countries.

Asked about conversations among Democratic senators about putting additional conditions on aid to Israel amid its devastating offensive in the Palestinian territory of Gaza, the Kentucky Republican told reporters: I think its ridiculous.

Our relationship with Israel is the closest national security relationship we have with any country in the world, and to condition, in effect, our assistance to Israel to their meeting our standards it seems to me is totally unnecessary, McConnell said. This is a democracy, a great ally of ours, and I do not think we need to condition the support that hopefully we will give to Israel very soon.

Lawmakers are considering a multibillion-dollar package of additional American assistance for Israel as the nation wages a campaign targeting the Palestinian militant group Hamas in retaliation for a Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 Israelis. Many humanitarian groups and foreign policy experts are alarmed by Israels conduct as it uses U.S. weaponry and funding: The United States already provides more than $3 billion in annual military aid to the nation. The recent campaign in Gaza has killed close to 15,000 Palestinians, including more than 5,000 children , according to authorities there, and Amnesty International last week published an investigation accusing Israel of committing war crimes by indiscriminately targeting civilians.

McConnells comments are striking because they undercut decades of claims from U.S. officials, including from the Biden administration amid the current fighting, that the U.S. expects Israel to respect U.S. and international standards in its military operations. Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. military aid since World War II.

McConnell wields significant influence in discussions about U.S. military aid internationally because he helps craft the legislation permitting that spending, shepherds Republican Senate votes to approve it and determines which GOP senators receive powerful positions on committees overseeing global affairs.