Democracy Now!

Tens of thousands marched from Washington, D.C.'s Freedom Plaza to the White House Saturday in the largest pro-Palestinian demonstration in U.S. history. Democracy Now!'s Messiah Rhodes, Maria Taracena and Hany Massoud spoke to protesters who condemned the U.S. government's support for Israel and called for a ceasefire in Gaza. We also play excerpts from speakers at the protest rally, including lawyer Noura Erakat, musician Macklemore and writer Mohammed El-Kurd.

As the Palestinian death toll in Gaza nears 10,000, calls for ceasefire are growing around the world. This is a paradigm-changing moment," says Shibley Telhami, who discusses the shifting public opinion on conflict in Israel and Palestine and its potential impact on Joe Biden's reelection campaign. Telhami is a professor of peace and development at the University of Maryland and senior fellow at the Center for Middle East Policy.

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At least 23 people were arrested in Boston on Thursday as faith leaders and clergy led a peace rally to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. The interfaith protest targeted Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey to pressure them to stand up for Palestinian lives. We share footage and voices from the rally.

We speak with Josh Paul, a former State Department official who resigned last month to protest continued arms sales to Israel amid its bombardment of Gaza, writing in a viral letter that one-sided U.S. support for Israel is shortsighted," destructive" and contradictory." Media reports say many others inside the State Department are equally frustrated with the U.S. role in the conflict. Paul tells Democracy Now! he tried to raise his concerns with his superiors but found no appetite for that discussion" and that unlike all other U.S. arms sales that take humanitarian concerns into account, Israel gets a blank check. Paul says the overall message inside the Biden administration is: Don't question the policy because it's coming from the top."

A leaked document from Israel's Intelligence Ministry dated less than one week after the October 7 Hamas attack proposes the permanent transfer of Gaza's residents to Egypt. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the document's authenticity but dismissed it as a mere concept paper," while Egypt and much of the Arab world has publicly opposed the forced displacement of millions of Palestinians. But the exposed plans have confirmed many Palestinians' fears that Israel's ultimate goal during its current offensive is their ethnic cleansing from Gaza, a reenactment of the 1948 Nakba that saw about 700,000 Palestinians pushed out of their homes and turned into refugees during the creation of Israel. For more, we hear from Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, a writer for +972 Magazine and Local Call, who says that while the Intelligence Ministry is not particularly powerful, this is an official state document essentially recommending the government to carry out an ethnic cleansing of Gaza." Meanwhile, radical settlers in the West Bank are increasingly using the war on Gaza as cover to push Palestinians out of their homes and villages, often under threat of lethal violence. Death is now everywhere, and things are deteriorating really, really quickly," says Abraham.

Gaza Death Toll Tops 9,200 as U.N. Experts Warn Time Is Running Out to Prevent Genocide", Israeli Strike Kills Palestinian Journalist Mohammad Abu Hattab and His Family, Israeli Raids on Occupied West Bank Kill 9 Palestinians, Including Children, Hezbollah Chief to Make First Speech on Gaza Amid Mounting Violence on Israel-Lebanon Border, House Approves $14.3 Billion Military Aid Package for Israel, We Choose Humanity": Chile's Gabriel Boric Condemns U.S. Support for Israel's Massacre in Gaza, Multifaith Protests Demanding Gaza Ceasefire Continue Across the U.S. Despite Police Crackdown, Cornell Cancels Classes After Student Posts Antisemitic Mass Shooting Threats, 100+ Activists Stage Die-in in Front of Raytheon as Arms Maker Projects Profits from U.S. War Funding, Russia Deratifies International Nuclear Testing Ban, Only Israel Stands with U.S as UNGA Votes for 31st Straight Year to Condemn U.S. Embargo on Cuba, Mexico Announces Plans to Rebuild Acapulco After Hurricane Otis; Europe Hit by Record Wind and Rain, FBI Raids Home of NYC Mayor Adams's Top Fundraiser in Campaign Financing Probe, Sam Bankman-Fried Faces 110 Years in Prison After Guilty Verdict in FTX Fraud Case, Ex-Memphis Police Officer Pleads Guilty in Beating Death of Tyre Nichols, Domestic Abuse Survivor Tracy McCarter Sues NYC, Police Officers over Wrongful Arrest

As pressure builds for a ceasefire after 27 days of Israel's bombardment of Gaza, author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates joins us in a broadcast exclusive interview to discuss his journey to Palestine and Israel and learning about the connection between the struggle of African Americans and Palestinians. The most shocking thing about my time over there was how uncomplicated it actually is," says Coates, who calls segregation in Palestine and Israel evil." There's no way for me, as an African American, to come back and stand before you, to witness segregation and not say anything about it." Coates acknowledges the suppression of those advocating for Palestinian rights but says this is not new for Black writers and journalists. I have to measure my fear against the misery that I saw."

As the overall death toll from Israel's 27-day bombardment tops 9,000, we speak with Just Vision's Fadi Abu Shammalah in Gaza about his family's experiences on the ground as the besieged territory runs out of water, food and fuel. We have only one thing: that we are being killed," says Shammalah, who calls for Americans to keep going" in demonstrations for Palestinian rights. We are being killed by your taxes."

U.N. Warns Israel's Attacks Could Amount to War Crimes" as Gaza Death Toll Passes 9,000, Biden Responds to Rabbi Calling for Gaza Ceasefire: We Need a Pause", Protesters Hold Die-in in Office of Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed, Jordan Recalls Ambassador to Israel over Gaza's Unprecedented Humanitarian Catastrophe", Iran Warns of Grave" Consequences If Israel Continues Gaza Assault, Ukraine's Military Commander Says War with Russia Has Reached a Stalemate, Republican Senators Confront Tommy Tuberville over Holding Up Military Confirmations, House Rejects Resolution to Expel New York GOP Rep. George Santos, House Tables Censure Resolution Against Palestinian American Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Oregon Teachers Strike for Higher Wages and Smaller Class Sizes, Pharmageddon": Pharmacists and Technicians Launch Wildcat Strikes at CVS and Walgreens, Healthcare Activist Ady Barkan, Who Championed Medicare for All, Dies of ALS at 39

A former top United Nations official in New York joins us for an in-depth interview about why he has resigned after publicly accusing the U.N. of failing to address what he calls a text-book case of genocide" unfolding in Gaza. Craig Mokhiber is a longtime international human rights lawyer who served as director of the New York Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. His resignation letter (embedded below) has gone viral. In one of his first interviews since leaving his post, Mokhiber tells Democracy Now! the U.N. follows a different set of rules" when addressing Israel's violations of international law, refusing to utilize its enforcement mechanisms and thus effectively" acting as a smokescreen behind which we have seen further and worsening dispossession of Palestinians." He says it is an open secret inside the halls of the United Nations that the so-called two-state solution is effectively impossible," and calls for international actors to push for a new paradigm" in the region based on equality for all." We also discuss the inaction of the International Criminal Court, global suppression of pro-Palestinian advocacy, bad-faith accusations of antisemitism and more.

We get an update on Gaza's largest refugee camp, Jabaliya, which was hit by a massive Israeli airstrike Tuesday that destroyed housing blocks in the densely populated settlement and killed at least 50 Palestinians and wounded over 150 others. Israel claims it was targeting a Hamas commander accused of helping to orchestrate the militant group's October 7 attack inside Israel. Yousef Hammash, who was born and raised in Jabaliya and is the advocacy officer in Gaza for the Norwegian Refugee Council, describes it as a small city within a city" and one of the most crowded places on Earth." Speaking from Khan Younis, Hammash also chronicles dire humanitarian conditions in the so-called safe southern region of Gaza and says he hopes his two young children can see a brighter future."

Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 50 Gazans in Jabaliya as Overrun Hospitals on Brink of Catastrophe, Rafah Border with Egypt Opens for Foreign Nationals and Some Injured Gazans, Antiwar Protesters Disrupt Blinken and Austin Senate Hearings to Call for Ceasefire, GOP Wants to Divert IRS Funding to Fulfill Biden's Request for $14 Billion for Israel, Baited by Fox, White House Likens Palestinian Rights Protests to Charlottesville, Bernice King Corrects Record on Her Father After Misleading Tweet by Amy Schumer, A Text-Book Case of Genocide": New York's U.N. Rights Chief Steps Down over Response to Gaza Assault, Chile and Colombia Recall Ambassadors to Israel; Bolivia Cuts Diplomatic Ties with Israel, Houthis Say They Launched Air Attacks in Southern Israel, Iranian Authorities Detain, Beat World-Renowned Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, China-Mediated Plan to Repatriate Rohingya Refugees to Burma Advances Despite Fears of More Violence, Pakistani Police Arrest Afghan Nationals as Crackdown on Immigrants Intensifies, King Charles Expresses Deepest Regret" for Colonial Violence in Kenya But Does Not Offer Apology, Michigan Closes Cases Against Public Officials Responsible for Flint Water Crisis

The United Auto Workers union has reached tentative agreements with Ford, Stellantis and General Motors, and workers are returning as they end a historic six-week strike against the Big Three automakers based in Detroit. Under the deals, workers will get major raises over the length of the contracts, as well as improved benefits. They will be life-changing for some of the lowest-paid members of the union," says legendary labor journalist Jane Slaughter, founder of Labor Notes. The UAW's success is largely attributed to union president Shawn Fain's stand-up strike" strategy, in which workers walked off the job at more locations each week in response to lack of progress at the bargaining table. Fain is part of a new wave of reformist leaders who were intent on reversing losses from the Great Recession, when the union made historic concessions to keep the car companies afloat. None of this would be happening if it were the old UAW," says Slaughter.

We speak with Israeli historian Ilan Pappe about Israel's escalating war on Gaza, as well as a leaked document from the country's Ministry of Intelligence that suggests permanently expelling Gaza's entire population to the Sinai Desert in Egypt. This is a massive operation of killing, of ethnic cleansing, of depopulation," says Pappe. He also says the only way to secure the release of the more than 200 hostages held by Hamas is to agree to an all-for-all swap for the thousands of Palestinian political prisoners held by Israel, including many women, children and elderly people. This is the only way to release the people who were taken." Pappe is a leading critic of the Israeli occupation, a professor of history and the director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter. His books include The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples and The Idea of Israel: A History of Power and Knowledge.

As Israeli tanks and other ground forces enter Gaza, we speak with a doctor in the besieged territory. Dr. Hammam Alloh is working at Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in the area, and says tens of thousands of people have sought shelter to escape Israel's heavy bombardment. He describes making harrowing decisions with rapidly dwindling supplies, such as not resuscitating a patient who went into cardiac arrest because of a lack of ventilators. He also remains steadfast in staying at the hospital, despite Israeli demands to evacuate south. You think I went to medical school and for my postgraduate degrees for a total of 14 years so I think only about my life and not my patients?" he says. This is not the reason why I became a doctor."

UNICEF Warns Israel's Assault on Gaza Is Killing or Wounding 420 Children a Day, Israeli Tanks Press Deeper into Gaza After Netanyahu Rules Out Ceasefire, Condemns Hostage Video, Israeli Military Warns Al Jazeera Correspondent in Gaza to Leave Home or Die, Reporters Without Borders Says Israel Targeted" Journalists in Attack That Killed Issam Abdallah, Sit-in Protesters Across Canada Demand Lawmakers Press for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza, Antisemitic Mob Storms Airport in Russia's Dagestan Region Seeking Israeli Passengers, U.S. Officials Warn of Surge of Hate Crimes Against Muslims, Arabs and Jews, Records Show Police Ignored Warnings Ahead of Maine Gunman's Violent Rampage, Colorado Court Hears Arguments in Lawsuit Seeking to Bar Trump from 2024 Ballot, Pence Drops 2024 Presidential Bid; Rep. Dean Phillips to Challenge Biden for Democratic Nomination, UAW Reaches Tentative Deal with GM, Ending Strike Against Big Three U.S. Automakers, Prison Banned Books Week Highlights Censorship Behind Bars

Amid growing alarm that more Israeli airstrikes will hit hospitals in Gaza, we speak with two physicians about Gaza's medical system and Israel's orders to evacuate key hospitals. Dr. Fadel Naim, head of orthopedic surgery at Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in Gaza, says Israel has bombed all around the hospital." Dr. Mads Gilbert, who has helped provide emergency trauma care in Gaza for over four decades, condemns Israel for using allegations of military activity to attack civilian hospitals without proof. This is all part of this immense intimidation of the Palestinian people in Gaza," says Gilbert, who is trying to enter the besieged territory from Egypt to show concrete solidarity with the Palestinian people."

We look at the reluctance in Congress to censure Israel despite growing grassroots pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza. The narrative on both sides of the aisle is mostly about the right of Israel to defend itself," says Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace. Congress has bought, completely, the framing which says that any Palestinian that dies in Gaza ... that's all on Hamas." Friedman explains how the normalization of the racist Kahanist movement by Israel and the U.S. helped lead to today's crisis, and lays out Israel's approach to the ongoing hostage situation in Gaza.

We speak with Illinois Congressmember Delia Ramirez, one of the 18 members of the U.S. House of Representatives who have signed a resolution calling for an immediate deescalation and ceasefire in Israel and Palestine. The only way we move forward is deescalating," says Ramirez. The aid that we send cannot be used to kill innocent lives. It's unacceptable, it's not moral, and I can't stand behind that."

We bring you the voices of Jewish Voice for Peace and their allies who shut down the main terminal of Grand Central Station during rush hour Friday in one of New York's largest acts of civil disobedience in 20 years to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. The multiracial, intergenerational movement says about 400 people were arrested, including rabbis, famous actors and elected officials from the New York State Assembly and Senate and the City Council.

Palestinian Death Toll Tops 8,300 as Israeli Tanks Advance on Gaza City, Families of Israeli Hostages Plead with Netanyahu to Protect Hostages, Call for Prisoner Swap, West Bank Toll Rises to 111 After Israeli Settler Kills Palestinian Harvesting Olives, U.S. and Israel Side Against Overwhelming Majority at UNGA Calling for Gaza Ceasefire, Jewish Voice for Peace Leads Protest of Thousands in NYC's Grand Central Station, Maine Mass Shooting Suspect Found Dead of Self-Inflicted Gunshot, United Auto Workers Wins Tentative Deal with Stellantis and GM, Following Ford, Iranian Teen Assaulted by Morality Police for Not Wearing Headscarf Dies of Injuries, Extinction Rebellion Protesters Demand Germany Decarbonize by 2030, Leading Climate Scientist Saleemul Huq Dies in Bangladesh

A free speech battle is playing out on college campuses, as students, professors and others advocating for Palestinian rights across the United States are facing racist attacks and retaliation that threaten their safety and livelihoods. These attacks aim to suppress criticism of Israel and U.S. support of its actions in Gaza. This comes as the U.S. Senate has unanimously passed a resolution condemning Hamas and antisemitic student activities on college campuses." The resolution references a student at New York University's law school whose job offer was withdrawn after they sent a newsletter to classmates expressing unwavering and absolute solidarity with Palestinians in their resistance against oppression toward liberation and self-determination." We're joined by that student, Ryna Workman, who was also suspended from their position as president of the NYU Law Student Bar Association after publicly expressing support for Palestine, and by Dima Khalidi, the founder and director of Palestine Legal, a legal aid organization dedicated to documenting and supporting people who face retaliation for supporting Palestinian rights. Folks are now afraid to speak up, in fear that they might become the next me," says Workman about what Khalidi terms the Palestine exception to free speech."

According to the latest update from the Israeli military, Hamas is still holding at least 229 hostages captured during its October 7 incursion into southern Israel. The group has stated that they will not release all hostages until Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza. To discuss the release thus far of four hostages and prospects for future releases, we speak to Gershon Baskin, who helped negotiate a critical hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas in 2011. I really think this is some kind of negotiating game and competition that exists featuring Qatar and Egypt," says Baskin.

Palestinian poet Ahmed Abu Artema was seriously injured in an Israeli airstrike on October 24 that also killed five members of his family, including his 12-year-old son. Artema helped inspire the Great March of Return, a series of nonviolent protests in Gaza starting in 2018 when thousands of Palestinians marched to the militarized fence separating them from their ancestral homes inside Israel, braving deadly Israeli sniper fire that killed hundreds and injured thousands more. Artema spoke with Democracy Now! about the mass protests in 2019. The Palestinians in Gaza are actually in a real prison," he said. When tens of thousands of Palestinians share in the March of Return, they want to say that we never gave up our right to return."

UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestine refugees, says it is close to running out of supplies in Gaza, where it is sheltering over 600,000 displaced Palestinians. Israel has claimed that they cannot allow fuel to enter the besieged territory because of the supposed risk of it being appropriated by Hamas. We hear from UNRWA spokesperson Tamara Alrifai about the dire humanitarian crisis and the critical lack of food, water, medicine and especially fuel available for the millions stranded" in Gaza. UNRWA is calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and unrestricted aid corridors to address the crisis.

Gaza Is Being Strangled": U.N. Says Israel's Siege Will Lead to More Palestinian Deaths, Gaza Health Ministry Publishes Names of Nearly 7,000 Palestinians Killed in Israeli Strikes, Al Jazeera's Wael al-Dahdouh Returns to Work One Day After Israeli Strike Kills 12 Family Members, EU Appeals for Humanitarian Pause" in Gaza But Stops Short of Ceasefire Call, Vote to Stop This Madness": Palestinian U.N. Envoy Implores UNGA Members to Back Ceasefire, U.S. Forces Attack Iran-Linked Facilities in Syria, Florida Moves to Ban Chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine in State Colleges, Hurricane Otis Kills at Least 27 in Mexico, Leaving Trail of Destruction in Acapulco, Major Protests in Panama Take Aim at Canadian Copper Mine, U.S. Seeks to Turn Page on Fraught Relations with China with High-Profile Official Meetings, Maine Rep. Reverses Stance on Gun Laws, Calls for Ban on Assault Rifles, After Lewiston Massacre

We speak with philosopher Judith Butler, one of dozens of Jewish American writers and artists who signed an open letter to President Biden calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. We should all be standing up and objecting and calling for an end to genocide," says Butler of the Israeli assault. Until Palestine is free ... we will continue to see violence. We will continue to see this structural violence producing this kind of resistance." Butler is the author of numerous books, including The Force of Nonviolence: An Ethico-Political Bind and Parting Ways: Jewishness and the Critique of Zionism. They are on the advisory board of Jewish Voice for Peace.

Palestinian diplomat and scholar Hanan Ashrawi joins us from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and says the unfolding catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli bombardment has killed over 7,000 people so far, is equally the fault of the United States. The U.S. is certainly a partner in crime with Israel," says Ashrawi, noting that the bombs raining down on Gaza right now are largely produced in and paid for by the U.S. Israel is guilty of slaughter, of massacres, of ethnic cleansing, of genocide. These are the terms that describe a reality that is happening before your own eyes, Mr. Biden."

We speak with Al Jazeera correspondent Youmna ElSayed in Gaza, where an Israeli airstrike killed the family of the news outlet's Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh on Wednesday. The Qatar-based news network is one of the few international outlets with reporters in Gaza. The Israeli strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp killed at least 25 in total, and Dahdouh had fled to the refugee camp with his family after Israel ordered residents of northern Gaza to vacate their homes. He learned of the deaths of his wife, son, daughter and grandson while reporting live on the air. When we say there's no safe place in Gaza, we're not lying," says ElSayed, who criticizes Israel for its history of targeting media. The killings on Wednesday came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly urged Qatari leaders to pressure Al Jazeera to tone down its coverage of the war. Palestinian authorities say the death toll from Israel's 20-day bombardment of the Gaza Strip has topped 7,000, including over 2,900 children.

Israeli Tanks Enter Northern Gaza Strip as Palestinian Death Toll Passes 7,000, Al Jazeera Gaza Bureau Chief Loses Wife, Daughter, Son and Grandson to Israeli Airstrike, Hamas Rocket Fire Wounds Six in Israel, U.N. Security Council Fails to Pass Resolution to End Deadly Israeli Assault on Gaza, House Elects GOP Hard-Liner Mike Johnson as Speaker, Ending Weekslong Legislative Standstill, Not in Our Name": Jewish American Protesters Occupy Lawmakers' Offices Demanding Gaza Ceasefire, Gunman Kills 18 in Maine; Suspect Is Army Reservist and Weapons Trainer, Judge Reinstates Charges Against Ex-Officer Who Killed Eddie Irizarry, UAW Reaches Tentative Deal with Ford After 6 Weeks on Strike, White Nationalist Arrested and Charged in Hit-and-Run Killing of Mika Westwolf

Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez discusses his new report on The Current Migrant Crisis," about how U.S. policy toward Latin America has fueled historic numbers of asylum seekers. He argues U.S. economic warfare" against countries like Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela is what motivates many migrants to risk the journey north. We're seeing this enormous increase from these three countries. What do all these three countries have in common? They are all being subjected to United States sanctions," says Gonzalez. The sanctions are reducing the ability of people to survive in the region, and then we're surprised by all these people appearing at the border."

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen says a ceasefire is desperately needed in Gaza, where Israeli bombardment has killed more than 6,500 Palestinians since October 7. Wars lead to an 'us vs. them' mentality: 'We are good, they are evil,'" he says. Nguyen is among more than 750 writers who signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, after which the 92NY, a major cultural institution in New York City, canceled his speaking engagement there.

We are joined by the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen to discuss his new book, A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial. Last week the 92NY, a major cultural institution in New York City, canceled an event with Nguyen after he joined 750+ writers in signing an open letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. His memoir explores his family's personal history as refugees from Vietnam dealing with the impacts of U.S. imperialism. Civilian stories are war stories, too," says Nguyen. He says the U.S.'s greatest acts of anti-Asian violence occur internationally and continue today. I see total continuity between what the United States has done in the Philippines, in Korea, in Japan, in Laos, in Cambodia, in Vietnam and now with Palestine."

Despite growing international condemnation, Israel has rejected calls for a ceasefire of its continued assault on Gaza. Israeli forces carried out indiscriminate attacks, killing and injuring civilians, and in some cases that we documented, ... entire families were wiped out," says Amnesty International researcher Budour Hassan, who shares testimonies of Gazans from a new report on Israeli war crimes. Meanwhile, Israel continues to attack civilians in the occupied West Bank, and the number of Palestinians held in Israeli jails since October 7 has doubled. This level of pressure, of coercion, of oppression that Palestinians have been facing in the West Bank ... has received such scant attention because all eyes now are on Gaza," says Hassan.

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World leaders are warning of the risk of a wider war in the Middle East as Israel's assault on Gaza could spill over to other parts of the region. We speak to independent journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous about the negligible amount of aid that Israel is allowing to trickle into Gaza from the Rafah border crossing. He also discusses Egypt's response to Israel's attempts to ethnically cleanse Gaza by forcibly transferring the already-displaced Palestinian population into the Sinai. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's refusal thus far to comply with this Israeli directive has generated widespread support in his country and across the Arab world, but, Kouddous notes, it's a stance that's also rooted in economic self-interest.

Hamas has released two Israeli civilians held hostage in Gaza, 79-year-old Nurit Cooper and 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz, with the militant group saying they were let go for humanitarian reasons and poor health grounds." Hamas shared a video of armed fighters releasing the elderly hostages that shows Lifshitz reaching back to shake the hand of one of her captors and saying Shalom" - the Hebrew word for peace." We feature comments from Lifshitz upon her release as she describes humane treatment by her captors and expresses criticism of Israel's intelligence failure, and we get a response from Palestinian American journalist Rami Khouri. She represents probably the essence, I think, of what makes Judaism such a special religion. It is based on ethics ... and the pursuit of justice," Khouri says. The struggle of Palestinians is not with Jewish people. It is with the Zionist movement that became the state of Israel, which is widely recognized around the world as an apartheid system."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning if Hezbollah joins the fray in Israel's escalating war on the Palestinian territories, Israel will wage a second war in Lebanon. This comes as Israel exchanged fire with Hezbollah on the southern border of Lebanon and struck airports in Syria. We discuss the latest developments with Rami Khouri, Palestinian American journalist and columnist with 50 years' experience in the Middle East. He discusses simmering tensions in the region, where he says Israel's tough guy" approach is a failed military strategy that only generates greater resistance a year or two down the road" from groups like Hezbollah and Hamas - who see themselves as defending themselves from an invading and occupying force in the last anticolonial struggle in the world."

Israeli Strikes Kill 700 Palestinians Across Gaza as Hospitals Face Critical Fuel Shortage, Freed Israeli Hostage Yocheved Lifshitz Says She Was Treated Well by Hamas Captors, Israel-Hezbollah Cross-Border Violence Displaces 20,000 in Southern Lebanon, French President Emmanuel Macron Visits Israel Pledging Full Support" for Gaza Bombardment, Ontario Legislative Assembly Censures MPP Sarah Jama After She Calls for Gaza Ceasefire, New Delhi Police Arrest Protesters Near Israeli Embassy as They Demand Gaza Ceasefire, Jewish Peace Activists in New Mexico Hold Protests Demanding Senators Call for Gaza Ceasefire, Russia and Ukraine Trade Deadly Artillery Fire After Russian Missile Kills Six at Kharkiv Postal Center, Lubbock Becomes Largest Texas County to Ban Travel by Pregnant People Seeking Abortions, 6,800 Walk Out of Stellantis Assembly Plant as United Auto Workers Expands Strike, 92NY Suspends Literary Events as Writers Protest Censorship of Gaza Assault Critic Viet Thanh Nguyen

We speak with Noy Katsman, whose brother Hayim Katsman was a peace activist killed by Hamas militants in the village of Holit on October 7, about how they are demanding the death of their sibling not be used as a pretext for more bloodshed. What Israel is doing now is very clearly not for the security of anyone," Katsman says of the bombing campaign. The real reason is just revenge and killing and distraction [from] the failure of Israel to protect its citizens."

Raji Sourani, a leading human rights lawyer in Gaza, joins us by phone after his home was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes. Sourani and his family survived the bombing and are now staying with relatives, but he says they refuse to leave Gaza despite Israel's continuous bombardment. They want to evict Gaza and create a new Nakba. They don't want anybody in Gaza. They want us to leave," Sourani says, No power on Earth will take me from here. We are the stones of the valley." Sourani is the director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza. He is a recipient of the Right Livelihood Award and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award.

The death toll from Israel's 17-day bombardment of Gaza has topped 5,000 as Israel intensifies its assault on the besieged territory ahead of an expected ground invasion. Israel continues to reject calls from the United Nations for a humanitarian ceasefire, and relief groups say the aid convoys that have been allowed to enter Gaza are a mere drop in the bucket compared to the needs of Gaza's 2.3 million residents. We get an update from Palestinian scholar Jehad Abusalim, executive director of humanitarian and educational organization The Jerusalem Fund, who describes life in Gaza for those who have stayed and reiterates international calls for a ceasefire. Israel is just bombing Gaza nonstop, killing as many civilians as it could, simply because it's being enabled by the international community," says Abusalim.

Israel Intensifies Bloody Assault on Gaza; U.N. Warns Babies Could Die in Minutes If Power Lost, Gazan Journalist Roshdi Sarraj Killed; 29 UNRWA Workers Dead in Indiscriminate Israeli Attacks, Israeli Airstrikes Kill West Bank Palestinians Amid Unchecked Assault on Gaza, American Israeli Mother and Daughter Are First Two Hamas Hostages Released, Protests Continue to Demand Immediate Ceasefire; 100,000 Rally for Palestinian Rights in London, Activists Occupy Office of Rep. Ro Khanna After He Refused to Sign On to Ceasefire Resolution, Former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash Announces Family Members Killed in Israeli Strike on Gaza Church, Acclaimed Author Viet Thanh Nguyen Has NYC Event Canceled After Condemning Israel's Assault on Gaza, Detroit Synagogue Leader Samantha Woll Found Murdered Outside Home, Mother of Murdered 6-Year-Old Palestinian American Released from Hospital, Peronist Candidate Sergio Massa to Face Far-Right Populist in Argentina Presidential Runoff, Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado Wins Venezuela Presidential Primary, Iranian Journalists Sentenced to Prison for Covering Death of Mahsa Amini in Police Custody, Nawaz Sharif Returns to Pakistan; Former PM Imran Khan Indicted over State Secrets", 9 Republicans Vie for House Speakership After Rep. Jim Jordan Drops Bid

In Part 2 of our interview with legendary Israeli journalist Amira Hass, who has reported from the occupied West Bank and Gaza for over 30 years, she discusses attending Wednesday's historic protest in Washington, D.C., led by American Jewish groups, calling for an immediate ceasefire, as well as the events leading up to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, the ongoing hostage situation, and what could come next. How can they say Israel is not responsible?" asks Hass, who says the government has continued its policy of apartheid, occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians despite decades of international pressure to end the conflict. Israel did everything possible to foil the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel."

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is urging Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, where the death toll from Israel's two-week bombardment has topped 4,100. Israel says a ground invasion may be imminent. This isn't an effort to try to quell, to destroy Hamas specifically," says Tareq Baconi, Palestinian analyst and author of Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance. This is an effort to pursue an ethnic cleansing campaign in the Gaza Strip and beyond the Gaza Strip, as we see the violence rising in the West Bank." Baconi lays out Israel's history of enabling Hamas while designating them as terrorists in order to maintain tight control over Gaza. After the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,400, Baconi says, that equilibrium has now shattered."

Gaza Death Toll from Israeli Attacks Tops 4,100 as Blast Kills Civilians Sheltering in Church, Nearly One-Third of Palestinian Homes Have Been Damaged or Destroyed, U.N. Urges Distribution of Lifesaving Aid to Gaza as Rafah Crossing Remains Closed, Israeli Raid and Airstrike on West Bank Refugee Camp Kills 13 Palestinians, Including Children, Israeli Defense Minister Rallies Soldiers for Ground Invasion of Gaza, An Inflection Point in History": President Biden Urges Support for Massive Foreign Aid Package, China's Xi Jinping Calls for Gaza Ceasefire, Drone Attacks on U.S. Forces in Iraq & Syria Increase Fears of Wider Middle East War, British PM Rishi Sunak Discusses Gaza War with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Protests from Paris to Pakistan Demand Gaza Ceasefire, End to Israel's Occupation, Police Arrest Joseph Felix Badio, Key Suspect in 2021 Assassination of President Jovenel Moise, Jim Jordan Faces Third Vote in Bid to Become House Speaker Amid GOP Disarray, Former Trump Lawyer Sidney Powell Pleads Guilty in Georgia Racketeering Case, Sen. Laphonza Butler Will Not Seek Full Term as U.S. Senator in 2024, Hotel Cancels CAIR Event Amid Death Threats, California Judge Rules Against Law Banning Assault Weapons for 2nd Time

We speak with Amira Hass, Haaretz correspondent for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, who is usually based in Ramallah and attended Wednesday's anti-occupation protest in Washington, D.C., organized by American Jewish peace groups. Hass is the only Israeli Jewish journalist to have spent 30 years living in and reporting from Gaza and the West Bank. She decries the marginalization and suppression of the Israeli left, as extreme fascists" in the Netanyahu government have whipped the Israeli public into one that is drunk with the will to take revenge."

Thousands rallied at the U.S. Capitol this week calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, in what organizers with IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace called the largest-ever protest of Jews in support of Palestine. Hundreds were also arrested during a sit-in of the Cannon House Office Building. We feature addresses by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American member of Congress, and author Naomi Klein.

As the death toll in Gaza nears 3,800 from two weeks of Israeli aerial bombardment, we go to the occupied West Bank to speak with Dr. Mustafa Barghouti. With the passage of each minute, more Palestinians are killed," says Barghouti, general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative. Barghouti has been a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council since 2006 and is also a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization Central Council. He discusses Biden's visit to Israel, the clearly Israeli" strike on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, Israel's plans to annex Gaza, and the collapsed civilian society there, where residents have no access to clean water, no hospital beds for critical medical care and no safe haven. The game is clear: They want to ethnically cleanse, completely, the Gaza Strip."