As U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy wraps up his annual Walk Across Connecticut this week, the two-term senator said this year feels a little different than last as war rages between Israel and Hamas after a surprise attack left nearly 1,200 dead over the weekend.

“This has been a busy two days, I’m committed to do this walk, but obviously I have responsibilities on the foreign relations committee I’ve got to be cognizant of as well,” Murphy said. “So I’ve been doing double duty today.”

Murphy, who chairs the foreign relations subcommittee on the Middle East, said he’s been fielding phone calls from staff back in Washington D.C. on the conflict, while spending time speaking with constituents along the road. The senator began in Stafford and is expected to conclude his seventh consecutive trek across the state on Thursday in East Haven. While he had planned the annual walk for August, Murphy had to postpone due to positive COVID-19 diagnosis.

“We have to approve aid to Israel and to Ukraine, they are both vital to our national security interests,” Murphy said. “No one in Congress should force us to choose between fighting Russian terrorists in Ukraine or Hamas terrorists in Gaza. I’m open to any path to get funding for both.”

Murphy, who attended a pro-Israel rally in West Hartford on Monday, said that he would prefer to see both aid packages put together in one vote. The senator helped organize an evening conference call with Jewish leaders across Connecticut and said he is concerned about the safety of the Jewish community.

“Along the route, I have not had as many conversations as I would like, because I’ve spent most of the time on the phone trying to build support for a program that helps synagogues and Jewish community centers invest in security upgrades,” Murphy said. “I’ve been hearing a lot since Saturday about how this violence is going to end up rippling domestically. So I’ve been working to try and build a bipartisan group to help push funding for that.”

Murphy, who stopped into several businesses along Newington’s downtown, said that kitchen-table issues still dominate the conversation. Cost of living and housing are among the biggest concerns he has heard. In Hartford, Murphy said he met and spoke with several people who were unhoused or facing housing issues like eviction and rising rents.

“People are talking about the events in Israel, but it’s certainly not dominating the conversation,” Murphy said. “People are mainly still focused on their lives, budgets, and local schools. Most folks are still talking about the challenges they are facing daily.”

Wearing a UConn hat, blue khakis, and a pair of Nike running shoes, Murphy said the walk keeps him grounded and lets him hear from residents across the state. The conversations that tend to be more organic are the ones he considers most important.

“There is a risk in this job that you pay attention only to the squeaky wheel,” Murphy said. “This is a way to get a really representative sample of what people are talking about. Because I walk in a baseball cap, sneakers, and a pullover, people tend to be more willing to talk than if I pulled up in a business suit.”

Among the challenges the state faces, Murphy said the workforce shortage is having a direct impact on many small businesses. While the state has fully recovered the number of jobs lost at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a persistent labor shortage in several sectors, according to the 2023 Survey of Connecticut Businesses.

“I stopped into Anna’s Restaurant in East Hartford, I also went into ABC Pizza in Hartford, and a number of liquor stores along the way. One thing you notice is there is a lot of ‘help wanted’ signs. The quickest way to kill your business is not being able to serve customers. It’s no secret there is a workforce shortage, but you really see it a different way when you see so many help wanted signs,” Murphy said.

Over the summer, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said the U.S. is dealing with a loneliness epidemic that is threatening widespread physical and mental health consequences. To address this, Murphy introduced the National Strategy for Social Connection Act, which would create an Office of Social Connection Policy within the White House tasked with developing strategies to increase social connection. The bill, which does not yet have bipartisan support, remains a goal for Murphy to pass.

“You walk through towns and you see the shuttered bowling alleys, the closed-down meeting halls, places where we used to congregate that don’t exist any longer the way they once did,” Murphy said. “Along the walk, I continue to intersect with these reasons on why we need to invest in reconnecting with each other and battling this epidemic of loneliness.”

Murphy, who is seeking re-election to a third term next year, said he has no plans of slowing down and hopes to make the trek again next year. After concluding the walk on Thursday, the senator will have trekked over 60 miles across Connecticut roadways.