Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) declared Israel “one of our strongest and most important allies” on Friday, four days after it launched a deadly attack on a fleet of six ships headed for Gaza.

“The United States stands firmly with Israel at this critical time,” Reid said in a statement.

Party leaders and some rank-and-file Members, notably Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.), have announced strong support toward Israel in the wake of the deadly attack that killed nine people, including one American, although some have offered only a tepid response to Monday’s raid. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for example, simply called for an investigation of the incident.

Reid said Israel “has an obligation to protect its citizens” and “to prevent weapons from getting in the hands of terrorists determined to target them,” echoing Lieberman’s assertion that it acted to prevent aid from reaching members of the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza.

“Israel indicated it was willing to put in place a process to ensure that legitimate humanitarian relief reached Gaza. Unfortunately, this offer was rejected,” Reid said.