Democracy Now!

Israel Says It Will Allow Aid in Gaza After U.S. Warns of Possible Policy Change", Biden Continues to Funnel Arms to Israel Despite Killing of Aid Workers, Warning to Netanyahu, New Video Shows Israeli Military Killing Innocent Gazan Walking with Airdropped Aid Package, Euro-Med Says Israel Killed 563 People Around Aid Sites; Palestine Red Crescent Says 15 Staff Killed, Kill Them, But Nicely": Gazans Condemn U.S. Hypocrisy as Israeli Bombs and Missiles Rain Down, HRW Says Israel's Oct. 31 Attack on 6-Story Apartment Building a Likely War Crime, We Are All Complicit": Israeli Doctor Details Amputations, Inhumane Treatment of Gazan Detainees, Israeli Forces Fire Tear Gas on Worshipers at Al-Aqsa on Muslim Holy Day, Israel Escalates Threats Against Iran After Deadly Attack on Iranian Consulate in Syria, No Business as Usual While Gaza Is Destroyed": Activists Blockade Lockheed Martin Facility in NorCal, Columbia Suspends 6 Students Amid Crackdown on Palestinian Solidarity Activism, Peruvian Congress Rejects Impeachment Attempt Against President Dina Boluarte, Supporters of Death Row Prisoner Brian Dorsey Make Bid to Save His Life Ahead of Planned Execution, Housing Activists Take Aim at Real Estate Board of New York for Blocking Good Cause Eviction Law, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Peace Activist & Advocate for Survivors of Church Sexual Abuse, Dies at 94

Senegal has inaugurated the youngest elected president in Africa. Newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye nominated Ousmane Sonko to be his prime minister this week, capping a remarkable three-week period that saw the two opposition figures go from prison to ruling Senegal, vowing to fight poverty, injustice and corruption. Faye and Sonko were released from prison in mid-March after previous President Macky Sall had attempted to delay the vote, sparking fears of an anti-democratic election process. Faye's ultimate triumph, running on a platform of pan-Africanism and reform, has been a cause for celebration among many Senegalese, including former Prime Minister Aminata Toure, who says democracy prevailed," giving the country's younger generation a long-awaited opportunity to shake up the system," adds the Senegalese lawyer and political analyst Ibrahima Kane. Both join the show from Senegal's capital Dakar.

As the world reels from the World Central Kitchen attack in which seven aid workers in Gaza were struck and killed by three separate Israeli missiles while delivering aid for starving Palestinians, we speak with prominent Israeli scholar Neve Gordon about Israel's history of weaponizing food access in the Gaza Strip via the destruction of Palestinian agricultural land, labor restrictions and blockade, controlling and managing the population through food insecurity." Neve Gordon is a professor of human rights law and author of multiple books on Israel's occupation of Palestine whose latest essay for The New York Review of Books is titled The Road to Famine in Gaza." Now as aid deliveries dry up amid fears of further attacks on humanitarian workers, Gordon emphasizes that Israel has been controlling the food basket and using it as a weapon since the beginning of the occupation until today."

This week the White House canceled a planned Ramadan dinner after many Muslim American leaders refused to attend as the Biden administration indicates it plans to continue arming Israel. Instead, Biden held a scaled-back meeting Tuesday with Muslim American community figures. The curtailed meeting was itself met with protests, including from Palestinian American emergency room physician Dr. Thaer Ahmad, who walked out after handing Biden a letter from an 8-year-old orphaned Palestinian girl named Hadeel that read, I beg you, President Biden, stop them from entering Rafah." Ahmad tells Democracy Now! that he also told Biden, Make no mistake about it. It's going to be a bloodbath," before walking out. Ahmad is a board member for MedGlobal who recently spent three weeks in Gaza volunteering at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. He joins us today to discuss the meeting with Biden, in which Ahmad, the only Palestinian American in attendance, was told he and other attendees would be the first people who had actually been in Gaza after October 7 to directly brief the president. This meeting was not going to be impactful," says Ahmad, who shares how Biden's continued backing of Israel, even after its attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy left an American citizen dead, indicates that nobody is safe" in the Gaza Strip.

Jose Andres Condemns Systematic Targeting" of World Central Kitchen Aid Workers, Israeli Military Uses AI to Target Palestinians for Assassination, Palestinians Search Ruins of Al-Shifa for Loved Ones After Israel Obliterates Hospital, Netanyahu's Main Rival Benny Gantz Calls for September Elections in Israel, U.K. Under Pressure to Halt Israeli Arms Sales; Spain to Recognize Palestinian Statehood by July, Russian Drones Kill 4 People in Kharkiv, Including Rescue Workers, Russian Court Sentences Pussy Riot Activist Pyotr Verzilov to 8 Years in Absentia, Turkey Restores Election Victory of Pro-Kurdish Mayoral Candidate Following Unrest, Kenya's Public Sector Doctors Enter Third Week on Strike, Zimbabwe Declares National Disaster over Drought; Philippines Schools Close Amid Extreme Heat Wave, New York Judge Overseeing Trump Hush Money Case Rejects Bid to Delay April 15 Trial, 109-Year-Old Survivors of Tulsa Race Massacre Appeal to Oklahoma Supreme Court in Reparations Case, Martin Luther King Jr. Was Assassinated 56 Years Ago, April 4, 1968

As Benjamin Netanyahu faces mass protests at home and increasing diplomatic pressure abroad, we speak with Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator and president of the U.S./Middle East Project. He says Netanyahu is desperate to save his political prospects, primarily by continuing the war on Gaza for as long as possible and undercutting ceasefire talks. Prime Minister Netanyahu needs this war to continue and is willing and has already gone to extreme lengths to do so," says Levy, who faults the Biden administration for not applying any real pressure on him. Stop telling me that Netanyahu is a problem. You're the problem, because you're the enabler, you're the facilitator."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel says he will act immediately" to ban Al Jazeera in the country after the Knesset passed a law Monday that allows the government to shut down foreign news networks deemed to be threats to national security. Al Jazeera, one of the few outlets with local reporters in Gaza, denounced the move and said it was part of a pattern of Israeli attacks on the Qatar-based network, including targeting its journalists in Gaza since October 7 and the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank in 2022. For more, we speak with Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator and president of the U.S./Middle East Project, who says Netanyahu's move to ban Al Jazeera is red meat to his own base ... in a situation in which the war is not going particularly well for Israel. He's looking for distractions."

We speak with Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, about Israel's ongoing attacks against aid workers in the Gaza Strip. Israel has admitted it killed seven volunteers with World Central Kitchen on Monday after repeatedly bombing their clearly marked vehicle convoy, leading the humanitarian relief group to suspend its operations in Gaza and further restricting distribution of badly needed food amid a growing famine in the territory. Other aid groups have followed suit, citing the lack of safety. This comes after Israel had earlier banned UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, from bringing aid into northern Gaza, where the need is greatest. Egeland says even Israel's international backers need to rein in a war machine out of control" that is causing so much death and destruction. If you have a conflict where there is a world record in killing protected categories of personnel, then the law is broken to pieces. There's no other way to see it." He also calls for an end to international arms sales to Israel and resumed funding and support for UNRWA.

We get an update on the crisis in Haiti, where deadly violence has continued to escalate between armed groups and police fighting for control of the capital Port-au-Prince. The country's political future remains unclear, with recently resigned Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is stranded outside of Haiti, raising questions this week over the constitutionality of a transitional council" formed to serve as an interim governing body until elections are scheduled. Meanwhile, Canadian forces have been sent to Jamaica to train troops from Caribbean nations to join the U.N.-authorized mission to Haiti. Haitian American scholar Jemima Pierre says the transitional council is essentially a front for U.S. interests, and warns there will be inevitable war crimes" if foreign troops are deployed to Haiti. It's a terrible situation, but I think the idea that there's a Haitian-led solution coming is actually a false one," says Pierre. We are also joined by Kim Ives, editor of the English section of Haiti Liberte, who says Haiti is in the midst of a revolutionary process," led by Jimmy Barbecue" Cherizier. Ives says that far from being a gang leader, Cherizier has built a coalition to fight the criminal groups in the country and was central to the ouster of Ariel Henry. They always have to demonize, criminalize the people's resistance, and that's what we're seeing today when they try to put all the armed groups of Haiti's popular classes into one bag called 'the gangs,'" says Ives.

U.N. Chief: Israeli Attack on World Central Kitchen Aid Workers Is Unconscionable", Biden Outraged" over Aid Attack, But U.S. Claims Israel Hasn't Violated International Law, USAID Officials Privately Warn Biden That Gaza Famine Is Unprecedented in Modern History", Israeli Police Fire Water Cannons at Anti-Netanyahu Protesters, Iran Urges U.N. to Take Action After Israeli Bombing of Iranian Consulate in Syria, Uncommitted" Vote Movement Grows as Democratic Voters Voice Dismay over Biden's Gaza Policy, Palestinian American Doctor Walks Out of White House Ramadan Meeting with Biden, Senegal: Bassirou Diomaye Faye Inaugurated as President Weeks After Being Freed from Jail, Mayoral Candidate in Mexico Assassinated While Campaigning in Celaya, Taiwan Hit by Largest Earthquake in 25 Years, John Eastman Disbarred in California over Advising Trump on 2020 Coup Attempt, In BDS Victory, Pitzer College Ends Study Abroad Program with Israeli School

Iran has vowed to retaliate after Israel bombed the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing at least seven people, including three senior Iranian commanders and at least four other Iranian officers. Among the dead is senior commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the highest-ranking Iranian military officer to be killed since the U.S. assassinated General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020. While Israel sees strikes on foreign soil as part of their self-defense strategy," Iran feels it must respond to this breaching serious diplomatic norms," says Akbar Shahid Ahmed, senior diplomatic correspondent for HuffPost, who reports the pace and audacity of Israel's international attacks have escalated since October. While Israel is receiving huge amounts of American support, while Gaza is suffering and Israel is pummeling that Strip, we now see them risking a two-front war, maybe a three-front war."

Democracy Now! speaks with an active-duty soldier in the U.S. Air Force on hunger strike to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Senior Airman Larry Hebert is on day three of his hunger strike outside the White House, where he has been holding a sign that reads Active Duty Airman Refuses to Eat While Gaza Starves." It's just completely wrong and immoral for civilians to be starved and bombed and targeted in any manner," says Hebert. I'm hoping that other active-duty members will be more public with their concern over the atrocities happening in Gaza." Hebert was inspired by the actions of Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., in February to demand a Gaza ceasefire. What really infuriated me was the silence thereafter. ... I don't know a single member of our government or leaders in the military that really spoke on Aaron, even uttered his name," says Hebert, who is now looking to leave the military after learning more about U.S. foreign policy. I can't see myself continuing service."

The Washington Post reports the Biden administration has recently authorized the transfer of billions of dollars in bombs and fighter jets to Israel. The arms package includes more than 1,800 MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, which can be used to level entire city blocks. The U.S. is also sending 500 MK-82 500-pound bombs and 25 F-35 fighter jets. It has been doing this on a weekly basis since the conflict began, just an open tab of arms," says Josh Paul, former State Department official who worked on arms transfers before resigning in October to protest increasing arms sales to Israel. These are the arms that Israel is using to kill not only thousands of civilians but hundreds of aid workers, as well."

Israel is facing global condemnation after killing several international aid workers in Gaza. The workers with charity group World Central Kitchen were killed by an Israeli airstrike after unloading more than 100 tons of food aid carried by ship from Cyprus into Gaza. The charity staff, including three British nationals, an Australian, a Polish national and an American-Canadian dual citizen, and their Palestinian driver were struck while traveling in a clearly marked convoy branded with the charity's logo. World Central Kitchen said the attack occurred after the workers left a warehouse in Deir al-Balah, even though the charity had coordinated in advance about the convoy with the Israeli military. Every single humanitarian aid worker ... is already recognized by the Israeli army," says journalist Akram al-Satarri, reporting live from Rafah. It's the full responsibility of the Israeli government now to clarify and ... demystify the circumstances that led to that catastrophic incident." Al-Satarri also reports on Israel's move to ban the outlet Al Jazeera and on his experience living in Gaza right now, where food and medical supplies are scarce under Israel's strict blockade. The famine is not looming. The famine is already taking place."

World Central Kitchen Suspends Aid Operations After Israeli Airstrike Kills 7 of Its Workers, Biden Admin Could Send Another $18M in Arms to Israel Despite Mounting Deaths, Public Opposition, Benjamin Netanyahu Plans to Ban Al Jazeera, One of the Few Major Outlets Reporting Inside Gaza, Tehran Vows Revenge After Israeli Attack in Syria Kills 7 Iranian Officials, Incl. Top Commander, Primary Voters Urged to Protest Biden Support for War on Gaza at the Ballot Box, Florida's Top Court Approves 6-Week Abortion Ban But Offers Hope with Abortion Ballot Measure, Germany Decriminalizes Cannabis for Personal Use, Armed Violence Claims More Lives in Haiti Amid Stalled Leadership Talks, NY Judge Expands Trump Gag Order as Ex-President Pays $175M Bond in Civil Fraud Case, Izzy Award Honors In These Times, Mohammed El-Kurd, Lynzy Billing, Trina Reynolds-Tyler, Sarah Conway

On Sunday, tens of thousands rallied across Israel calling for the return of hostages and the removal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the largest nationwide protests since the October 7 attacks. From Tel Aviv, we're joined by Oren Ziv, a reporter and photographer for +972 Magazine who has been covering the Israeli protests. Ziv says the majority of Israelis generally support the war on Gaza but are increasingly turning against Netanyahu's far-right government, whose refusal to entertain a ceasefire is seen as an obstacle to the return of Israeli hostages.

As Christians around the world celebrated Easter Sunday, Palestinian Christians from the occupied West Bank were prevented from reaching Jerusalem for Good Friday to walk the Via Dolorosa, the path Jesus is said to have followed on the way to his crucifixion more than 2,000 years ago. Meanwhile, Jesus's birthplace of Bethlehem is uncharacteristically empty of tourists this year as Israel's assault on Gaza and crackdown on the West Bank escalate. Nothing can wash the blood from your hands," said the Reverend Munther Isaac at an Easter vigil for Gaza on Saturday, about Western complicity in Israel's genocide of Palestinians. Isaac is a Palestinian Christian theologian and the pastor at the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem. He joins Democracy Now! to discuss the history of Palestinian Christians in Gaza, Israel's occupation of Bethlehem and its strangling of freedoms in the West Bank, U.S. Christians' support of Israel and more.

Israeli forces withdrew from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City today after a two-week raid that has left most of the medical complex in ruins. Since October, Gaza's health sector has been completely decimated, leaving only a dozen hospitals partially functional as the entire medical infrastructure is relentlessly shelled, besieged and raided. We speak to British Palestinian reconstructive surgeon Ghassan Abu-Sittah, who spent over a month treating patients at Al-Shifa and Al-Ahli Baptist hospitals. He pays tribute to Dr. Ahmad Maqadmeh, a fellow surgeon who was found killed today alongside his mother at Al-Shifa. I blame the Western journalists, who perpetuated the narrative that militarized the hospital as a justifiable and acceptable target," says Abu-Sittah about Maqadmeh's death. This was a war Israel declared on Palestinian children," he later concludes, because Palestinian children represent the Palestinian tomorrow that is incompatible with the Zionist settler-colonial project." Plus, we hear from a trauma surgeon currently volunteering at the European Hospital in Khan Younis. Dr. Feroze Sidhwa describes the scene at the hospital as a squalid shelter for thousands of refugees. There's no privacy, no dignity for any of these people," he says.

Israel Ends Siege on Al-Shifa Hospital After Killing More Than 400 Palestinians, Israeli Airstrike on Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital Kills Four; Injured Include Seven Journalists, Israel Creates Kill Zones" in Gaza Where Soldiers Are Ordered to Shoot and Kill Everyone, Biden Admin Authorizes Billions of Dollars in New Bombs & Fighter Jets for Israel, Mass Protests in Israel Call for Ceasefire & Removal of Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Land Day Protests Held Across Globe, Smith College Students Continue Occupation Calling for School to Divest From Weapons Manufacturers, Pope Francis Repeats Call for Ceasefire in Gaza, Rep. Walberg (R-MI) Calls for Gaza to Be Bombed Like Nagasaki and Hiroshima", Blast Injures Three U.N. Military Observers & Translator in Lebanon, Trump Posts Video of a Hogtied Biden, Continues to Verbally Attack New York Judge's Daughter, Recep Tayyip Erdoan Suffers Major Blow as Turkish Cities Vote for Opposition Party Mayors, Peruvian Police Raid President Dina Boluarte's Home Amid Rolexgate" Investigation, Transgender Day of Visibility Sees Rallies, Celebrations, and GOP Attacks, Eight Chinese Migrants Found Dead on Mexican Beach After Boat Capsizes, California Fast-Food Workers Are Now Making at Least $20/Hour, Louis Gossett Jr., First Black Actor to Win Best Supporting Actor Oscar, Dies at 87

Republicans are on a crusade" against responsible investing, says Andrew Behar, CEO of the nonprofit group As You Sow that promotes corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy. His group was subpoenaed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee this week as Republicans probe whether investments that take into account environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns violate antitrust laws. Republicans have introduced bills in dozens of states across the U.S. to limit state bodies from working with banks and other financial firms that take things like climate change into consideration in their investments. ESG is a framework for assessing risk," Behar says. Basic good business says you want to assess and address risk, and that's what they're trying to suppress."

As the death toll in Gaza tops 32,600, we speak with UNICEF spokesperson James Elder in Rafah near the Egyptian border, now home to some 1.5 million Palestinians seeking shelter from the fighting. He says Israel's continued obstruction of aid into the territory is a man-made and preventable" crisis of hunger and acute malnutrition that could be ended if Israel just opened access to more aid trucks, especially in northern Gaza, where desperate people could be reached in as little as 10 minutes. When I'm on the street, every person, the first thing they want to tell me, in English or Arabic, is 'We need food, we need food,'" Elder tells Democracy Now! They are saying that because their assumption is the world doesn't know, because how would this be allowed to happen if the world knew?" He also reiterates UNICEF's call for a full ceasefire and warns against Israel's planned ground invasion of Rafah, which he describes as a city of children."

Pro-Palestine protesters disrupted the largest one-night fundraiser in presidential campaign history on Thursday. The event at Radio City Music Hall in New York City included numerous celebrities and featured President Biden alongside former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, raising a record $25 million for Biden's reelection campaign. The main event was an onstage conversation with the three U.S. presidents moderated by late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert, but people began disrupting it just 10 minutes into their conversation, as Biden was talking, with protesters calling on the president to stop arming Israel and to enforce a ceasefire in Gaza. Meanwhile, thousands of protesters were also massed outside the venue to protest the Biden administration's support for Israel's assault on Gaza. We play voices from inside and outside the event.

Search and rescue teams have recovered the bodies of two men from the Patapsco River following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, but four others remain missing and are presumed dead. All six victims were immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, part of a road crew that was filling potholes on the bridge when a cargo ship ran into one of the bridge supports, causing the entire structure to drop into the water. The construction workers are absolutely essential," says Gustavo Torres, executive director of the immigrant rights group CASA, which counted two of the victims as members. Immigrants face higher injury and death rates ... than nonimmigrants, and they are significantly less likely to have insurance." He says the disaster has highlighted the difficult, often dangerous work done by immigrants in communities across the United States, and calls on political leaders to stop dehumanizing rhetoric. What we need right now is comprehensive immigration reform. We don't need more attacks against the immigrant community."

ICJ Orders Israel to Allow Unhindered" Aid into Gaza in New Order as Starvation Deaths Mount, Reports: Israeli Airstrikes on Hezbollah Targets in Syria Kill 40 People, Including Civilians, Hebrew University Reinstates Palestinian Prof. Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian Following Outcry, Let Gaza Live!": Activists Disrupt Glitzy Biden Fundraiser with Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Activist Vivien Sansour Highlights Destruction of Gaza's Soil, Trees Since War, South Carolina, Florida Will Vote in Racially Gerrymandered Districts in November, Texas Acquits Crystal Mason, Who Faced 5-Year Sentence, Legal Nightmare for Voting Error, Biden Administration Restores Endangered Species Act Protections Stripped by Trump, FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years for Defrauding Customers, Judge Dismisses Elon Musk Lawsuit Against Center for Countering Digital Hate, Colombia Expels Argentine Diplomats After Far-Right President Javier Milei Insults Leftist Leaders, Outrage After Saudi Arabia Named as Chair of U.N. Commission on the Status of Women

Despite a U.N.-backed report sounding the alarm on imminent famine in northern Gaza, Israeli authorities announced Sunday they will no longer approve the passage of any UNRWA food convoys into northern Gaza. Our ability to adequately continue saving lives is really being obstructed," says UNRWA spokesperson Tamara Alrifai. What's going to happen to UNRWA if we can no longer truly operate?" The decision came as President Biden signed a $1.2 trillion appropriations bill that strips funding to UNRWA for the next year. The U.S. first suspended aid to UNRWA in late January, when the Israeli government claimed 12 of the agency's 30,000 employees were involved in Hamas's attacks on October 7. The unsubstantiated allegation prompted top donors to cut funding to UNRWA, though many of them have resumed funding as the agency welcomes new donor countries and an unprecedented number of civil society donations. Seeing the U.S., the agency's largest donor, withhold funding ... is a huge blow to us," says Alrifai. Stripping UNRWA of funding not only shrinks its ability to respond to the looming famine in Gaza, but also puts at risk the schools, the access of kids to proper education, the vaccines, the mother and child care - everything across the region."

A State Department official working on human rights issues in the Middle East resigned Wednesday in protest of U.S. support for Israel's assault on Gaza. Annelle Sheline, who worked as a foreign affairs officer in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, was not planning on publicly resigning, but her colleagues asked her to please speak out" against the Biden administration's unconditional support for Israel. At the end of the day, many people inside [the State Department] know that this is a horrific policy, and can't believe that the United States government is engaged in such actions that contravene American values so directly, but the leadership is not listening," says Sheline. I'm trying to speak on behalf of those many, many people who feel so betrayed by our government's stance." Sheline describes being moved by the words of Aaron Bushnell, the active-duty U.S. airman who set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in protest of the war on Gaza, who implored everyone to take a stand against genocide. I have a young daughter, and I thought about, in the future, if she were to ask me, 'What were you doing when this was happening? You were at the State Department.' I want to be able to tell her that I didn't stay silent."

Almost six months into Israel's assault, Gaza's health sector has been completely decimated. Before October 7, Gaza had 36 hospitals. Now only two are minimally functional, and 10 are partially functional, according to the United Nations. The rest have shut down completely after either being shelled, besieged and raided by Israeli troops, or running out of fuel and medicine. Israel's assault has killed over 32,500 Palestinians, including over 14,000 children, and wounded nearly 75,000. We speak with Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care physician who just spent two weeks volunteering and living at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza, about what she witnessed and the conditions of healthcare in the beleaguered and devastated territory. This is not a humanitarian crisis. This is the worst of what humanity is capable of, and it's entirely all man-made," says Haj-Hassan. This is an utter and complete failure of humanity, and, to be frank, I feel ashamed to be an American citizen. I feel ashamed to be part of a society that has allowed this to continue."

Video Shows Israeli Forces Shooting and Bulldozing Two Gazan Civilians as One Was Waving White Flag, Israeli Siege on Al-Shifa Hospital Continues: Journalist, at Least 13 Children Among Those Killed, Israel Kills Four Palestinians in Raid on Jenin in Occupied West Bank, Another State Dept. Official Makes Public Exit to Protest U.S. Support for Israeli Genocide, A Dangerous Precedent in U.S. Foreign Policy": Center for American Progress Blasts State Dept., Ireland to Intervene in South Africa's Genocide Case at ICJ; Protests Continue in Amman, Jordan, 2 Bodies Recovered from Baltimore Bridge Collapse; 4 Others Presumed Dead, Alabama Democrat Flips State Seat After Running on Abortion Rights, IVF Access, Court Upholds Undated Ballots Law in PA; MT Supreme Court Strikes Down GOP Voter Suppression Laws, White Supremacists Who Murdered Ahmaud Arbery Ask Court to Overturn Federal Hate Crime Convictions, Trump Lashes Out at Judge Hours After He Imposed Gag Order on Ex-President, Joe Lieberman Dies, Leaves Behind Legacy of Championing War on Iraq, Blocking Healthcare Access, Phoenix Approves Measure to Protect Workers from Extreme Heat as Florida Blocks Similar Efforts, Argentina Convicts 11 Ex-Officials for Disappearances, Torture, Murders During Military Dictatorship, Indonesia Arrests 13 Soldiers over Torture Death in West Papua, Death Toll in Moscow Terror Attack Reaches 143 as Immigrant Communities Report Spike in Attacks, U.N. Secretary-General Guterres Calls for Slavery Reparations

An immigration battle continues on the border between Texas and Mexico, as Texas's state government increases its militarization of the region, deploying hundreds of National Guard troops and constructing new infrastructure on the border. Meanwhile, a new federal spending bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden has increased funding for ICE and CBP, and state and federal courts have been wrangling over the legality of SB4, a new Texas state law that gives local police sweeping powers to arrest and deport anyone they suspect has entered the United States without authorization. We hear more from Fernando Garcia, founder and executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights, in El Paso. Garcia says the influx of special forces with no training with how to deal with a civilian population," alongside the show me your papers'' atmosphere created by SB4, is increasing the daily violence faced by Latinx residents on the U.S. side of the border, all while illegally impeding" the right to seek asylum by those in desperate" straits on the Mexico side. Instead of capitulating to anti-immigrant politicians, he continues, We needed for the federal government to stop Texas, stop the governor" from targeting Latinos, people of color, migrants and people looking for asylum, for protection."

Six people are missing and presumed dead after a 984-foot cargo ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing the bridge's collapse early Tuesday morning. All six have been identified as immigrant construction workers originally hailing from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Maryland Governor Wes Moore said the crew on the ship was able to issue an emergency mayday call before colliding with the bridge, which allowed authorities to stop incoming traffic and prevent more casualties. However, reports say the workers already on the bridge were not given similar warnings. The question we should be asking about is why the folks on that bridge ... had no direct line to emergency dispatch when they are clearly working in a potentially hazardous environment," says journalist Maximillian Alvarez, the editor-in-chief of the Baltimore-based organization The Real News Network, who has been closely following the story and how it has affected immigrant and working-class communities. What does this story actually show us? That immigrants are filling our potholes at night so that we can have a smooth drive to work in the morning," Alvarez says. I hope people can see this and see the humanity in us."

Democratic Arizona state Senator Eva Burch made headlines last week after speaking on the floor of the state Senate about her plans to obtain an abortion after receiving news that her pregnancy was nonviable. Arizona has banned all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. I felt like it was really important for me to bring people along, so that people could really see what this looks like," says Burch, a former nurse practitioner who worked at a women's health clinic before running for office, about why she decided to publicly tell her story. I wanted to pull people into the conversation so we can be more honest about what abortion care looks like" and hopefully move the needle in the right direction," she adds.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday on the abortion pill mifepristone, which is available by mail and can be taken at home, even in states that have severely limited or banned abortions. The case was brought by a group of anti-choice medical associations that have sought to overturn moves by the Food and Drug Administration to increase access to the drug, which is used for roughly two-thirds of all U.S. abortions. This was the first abortion-related Supreme Court hearing since the court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. A decision is expected by July. Overall the justices showed that they were skeptical of the claims brought by the plaintiffs in this case," says Michele Goodwin, a law professor at Georgetown University and founding director of the Center for Biotechnology and Global Health Policy. Goodwin summarizes the arguments presented by both sides, the justices' responses and the legal implications of the upcoming ruling.

Supreme Court Appears Poised to Preserve Access to Abortion Pill Mifepristone, UNICEF: Paper Thin" Children Dying in Gaza of Malnutrition and Dehydration, U.N. Special Rapporteur Outlines How Israel Is Committing Genocide in Gaza, Report: 69% of Israeli Arms Imports Come from United States, U.S. State Dept.: We Have Not Found Israel to Be Violating International Law in Gaza, They Have a Point": Biden Responds to Pro-Palestinian Protesters, Israeli Airstrike on Lebanese Health Center Kills Seven Paramedics, Six Immigrant Construction Workers Still Missing After Baltimore Bridge Collapse, Russian Court Extends Detention of Evan Gershkovich, Police in India Detain Dozens of Protesters as Pre-election Crackdown Grows, NY Judge Issues Gag Order on Trump Ahead of Hush Money Trial, NBC Cuts Ties with Ex-RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel After Staff Protests, RFK Jr. Taps Nicole Shanahan to Be Running Mate, Homes of Sean Diddy" Combs Raided in Federal Sex Trafficking Probe

We look at Donald Trump's ongoing legal battles with Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Cay Johnston, who has been covering Trump since the 1980s. The next major case against Trump is his hush money trial, set to begin April 15, in which he is accused of falsifying business records to cover up payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep an extramarital affair quiet during the 2016 presidential campaign. This comes as Trump is on the hook to produce $175 million to cover a civil fraud judgment in New York, where his bond was originally set at $454 million. Other cases against Trump, including over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents after he left office, are still ongoing. Donald Trump has committed serious criminal acts his whole life, and ... he's finally being held to account," says Johnston.

We speak with former top U.N. human rights official Craig Mokhiber after the Security Council voted Monday on a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all remaining hostages. The United States abstained from the vote, allowing it to pass after nearly six months of obstructing similar efforts at the Security Council. Mokhiber, who resigned in October over the U.N.'s failure to address rights violations in Israel-Palestine, says Israel has the world record" for violating U.N. resolutions and is certain to violate this ceasefire resolution, as well, even though it expressed the very broad consensus across the global community against Israel's onslaught on Gaza." Israel continued bombing Gaza after Monday's vote, and top Israeli leaders have vowed to continue the war that has killed over 32,000 Palestinians so far. What this genocide has done is it has revealed the weaknesses, the political compromises, the moral failings of the United Nations and other international institutions," says Mokhiber, who adds that continued pressure from civil society is needed to end the bloodshed.

Former U.K. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to the United Nations Security Council's resolution for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, which passed 14-0 on Monday after the United States declined to use its veto by abstaining from the vote. Corbyn calls the war and suffering in Gaza a global disgrace" and says the ceasefire must be enforced. It's time to stand with the Palestinian people."

The British High Court in London has put the extradition of Julian Assange on hold until the United States provides assurances that he would get a fair trial in the U.S. without facing the death penalty. If those assurances are not met, Assange will be granted the right to a full appeal hearing. Speaking outside the court Tuesday, Stella Assange called for the Biden administration to drop this shameful case" against her husband. Julian should never have been imprisoned for a single day," she said. We speak with MP Jeremy Corbyn, who led the U.K. Labour Party from 2015 to 2020 and who has been calling for all charges against Assange to be dropped. The pressure needs to now go on to the Biden administration," Corbyn says. If Julian goes down for this, every serious journalist around the world is going to be slightly more cautious about exposing war crimes, about exposing corporate greed."

U.K. High Court Delays Possible Extradition of Julian Assange Until U.S. Provides Assurances", UNSC Approves Its First Gaza Ceasefire Resolution Ater U.S. Abstains, Israeli Attack on Rafah Home Kills at Least 18 People, Half of Them Children, U.N.-Commissioned Report Lays Out Evidence of Israeli Genocide in Gaza, Baltimore Bridge Collapse Plunges Vehicles into Freezing River; Officials Warn of Mass Casualties", Bassirou Diomaye Faye Clinches Senegalese Presidency, Vows to Fight Corruption and Inequality, Ecuador's Youngest Mayor Brigitte Garcia Killed in Targeted Shooting, NBC News Faces Backlash After Hiring Former RNC Chair, Election Denier Ronna McDaniel, Trump's Bond in Civil Fraud Case Lowered to $175M as Judge Sets April 15 Date for Hush Money Trial, SCOTUS Hearing Arguments in Case That Could Restrict Nationwide Access to Abortion Pill, NYC Home Health Aides End Hunger Strike, Vow to Continue Fighting for an End to 24-Hour Workdays

Sudan is on track to become the world's worst hunger crisis, according to the United Nations. For over a year, fighting between the Sudanese military and the rival Rapid Support Forces has disrupted the country, displacing over 8 million people who experience extreme hunger in the areas with the most intense fighting. The increasing demand comes as the U.N.'s appeal for $2.7 billion for Sudan is less than 5% funded. Funding is also drying up in Chad, where some 1.2 million Sudanese have taken refuge. This is the largest sort of mass mortality crisis that we are facing in the world and the largest that we have probably faced for many decades," says Alex de Waal, the author of Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine, who laments the shocking" cuts to the World Food Programme that is essential to the global emergency response system. If it doesn't work, we are going to find ourselves facing the kinds of crises of mass mortality that we have simply not seen for half a century or longer."

In Gaza, millions of Palestinians are starving after five months of U.S.-backed attacks by Israel, while Israel continues to prevent the delivery of essential provisions. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini wrote on social media, This man-made starvation under our watch is a stain on our collective humanity." The head of the World Health Organization says children in Gaza are already dying of malnutrition. This is fundamentally a political crisis," says Alex de Waal, the author of Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine, who explains that even with a ceasefire and humanitarian aid, a crisis like this cannot be stopped overnight," and that This will be a calamity that will be felt for generations."

ISIS-K, an affiliate of the Islamic State, has claimed responsibility for an attack on a popular concert hall in Moscow that killed at least 137. Authorities say gunmen opened fire inside the Crocus City Hall building during a sold-out rock concert and then set part of the venue on fire. More than 100 people were injured in the attack, and many remain in critical condition. Authorities have detained 11 suspects, four of whom, all reportedly citizens of Tajikistan, are charged with terrorism and face life sentences. As more details emerge about the attack, we speak with professor of international affairs at The New School Nina Khrushcheva about the history of Muslim fundamentalist attacks in Russia and Putin's unfortunate" decision to ignore Western intelligence warnings about terrorist attacks. We're also joined by longtime Moscow correspondent for The New Yorker Joshua Yaffa, who details possible motivations for ISIS-K and how Putin is attempting to fit this attack into his narrative opposing Ukraine and the West. First and foremost, he cares about preserving his own power and the continued stability of his ruling system," says Yaffa, who explains how Putin tries to control political blowback by equating ISIS-K with any group he opposes, including Alexei Navalny's anti-corruption network and the so-called worldwide LGBT movement. This is important to understand both in trying to determine how this attack happened in the first place and also what might Putin's response be moving forward."

At Least 137 People Killed in ISIS-Claimed Attack on Moscow Concert Hall, Israel Continues to Starve Gaza, Blocking Food Aid as It Escalates Attack on Gaza's Ailing Hospitals, Kamala Harris Warns Against Israeli Invasion of Rafah, Does Not Rule Out Consequences" from U.S., China, Russia Veto U.S.'s Ambiguous" Conditional Ceasefire Resolution at U.N. Security Council, Bernie Sanders, AOC Among Lawmakers Who Opposed $1.2 Trillion Spending Bill over Defunding of UNRWA, Gaza Solidarity Protests Fill Streets of Dublin, Santiago and Other Large Cities, Activists Protest Metropolitan Museum's Complicity in Israel's War and Occupation of Palestine, Senegalese Opposition Candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye Leads Early Election Results, Russian and Ukrainian Attacks Hit Energy and Oil Targets, 150+ Kidnapped School Children Rescued in Northwestern Nigeria, Brazilian Police Arrest Suspected Masterminds of Marielle Franco's Assassination, Trump's Assets Could Be Imminently Seized by NY Attorney General Letitia James, Congress: Another GOP Rep. Quits; Tammy Murphy Exits NJ Senate Race; MJT Wants to Oust Mike Johnson

In Mississippi, six former sheriff's deputies have been sentenced to between 10 and 40 years in prison for raiding a home and torturing, shooting and sexually abusing two Black men, Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker, in January 2023. The six former deputies, all of whom are white, called themselves the Goon Squad" and have been linked to at least four violent attacks on Black men since 2019. Two of the men attacked and tortured by the group subsequently died. To discuss the case and the verdict, we're joined by Eddie Parker and attorneys Malik Shabazz and Trent Walker. Never have we seen this many police officers sentenced to this kind of time in one week," says Shabazz, who calls the verdict historic." Jenkins, Parker and Shabazz are currently suing the Rankin County Sheriff's Department over its track record of civil rights violations and racist targeting of Black residents.

As Israel continues its relentless assault on Gaza, causing mass famine, injury and death, we get an update on the malnutrition and mental health crises in Gaza from Dr. Nahreen Ahmed, a pulmonary and critical care doctor and the medical director of the humanitarian aid group MedGlobal. She is recently back from a two-week volunteer trip to Gaza, where she says these crises are growing so rapidly that even if aid was increased tomorrow, we would still be in a severe situation where the amount of food would not be enough in the immediate term." It is a horrific experience for all involved," she concludes.

At the U.N. Security Council, China and Russia have vetoed a U.S. draft resolution on the war in Gaza. The U.S. resolution appeared to call for a ceasefire, but it was written in a way to make the resolution unenforceable. Our guest Phyllis Bennis says this was mere wordplay" and a convoluted" attempt by the Biden administration to play both sides, as it comes under increasing internal and external criticism over its close relationship with Israel. Bennis is a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and an international adviser to Jewish Voice for Peace. She has written several books on U.S. foreign policy and the Middle East. When it comes to dissent over U.S. support of Israel, the pressure is mounting in ways that I've certainly never seen," she says, adding that it's imperative for the public to continue pushing for more action, as it's crucial that the weapons sales be cut" and a real ceasefire be reached immediately.

Al-Shifa Evacuees Describe Terror of Israeli Attack on Besieged Hospital, Video Shows Israeli Forces Targeting and Killing Group of Unarmed Gazans, Antony Blinken Meets Netanyahu in Tel Aviv as He Acknowledges Severe Hunger Crisis in Gaza, Dozens of Ex-U.S. Officials Warn Biden Against Enabling Israeli Abuses in Occupied West Bank, Sudan Could Soon Become the World's Worst Hunger Crisis, Biden Admin Urged to Halt Haiti Deportations as Deadly Unrest Continues, 70+ Rohingya Refugees Could Be Dead After Boat Capsizes Off Aceh Coast, France Pushes Law to Curb Devastating Impacts of Fast Fashion, Russian Strikes Kill 3 People, Cut Off Power for 1 Million Ukrainians, DOJ Files Major Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple, New Florida Law Bans Unhoused People from Sleeping in Public Spaces, Home Health Aides in NYC Go on Hunger Strike to Demand End to 24-Hour Workdays, Georgia GOP Moves to Punish Employers Who Voluntarily Recognize Unions, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Reintroduce Green New Deal for Public Housing Act

A new report by the research group Forensic Architecture counters Israel's argument at the International Court of Justice that it followed humanitarian policies to safeguard civilian life in Gaza. South Africa argued in January before the ICJ that Israel was guilty of genocide during its war on Gaza. The report argues that what Israel says are humanitarian evacuations in Gaza actually amount to the forced displacement of Palestinians, which is a war crime. It found that since October 7, Israel has issued imprecise and sometimes contradictory evacuation orders, attacked people even in so-called safe zones and evacuation routes, and failed to provide the necessities of life for those civilians, all while pushing the population further and further south into areas that are then also attacked or evacuated at a later time. We cannot see it as anything else but part of the genocidal campaign," says Forensic Architecture director Eyal Weizman, who accuses Israel of using humanitarian principles as yet another weapon against Palestinians in Gaza. He says Israel's objective is to exercise pain on the civilian population" in order to deter ongoing resistance to the Israeli occupation."

We speak with British surgeon Dr. Nick Maynard, who recently led an emergency medical team at Gaza's Al-Aqsa Hospital, about Israel's ongoing attacks on healthcare infrastructure and the worsening humanitarian crisis in the besieged territory, where Israel's brutal assault has killed about 32,000 Palestinians since October 7. Maynard is part of a group of international doctors with experience in Gaza who met with officials at the United Nations and in Washington, D.C., this week to express alarm over civilian suffering. Medical workers in Gaza are working under extremely challenging conditions with a huge lack of resources and working in a healthcare system that is being systematically dismantled by the attacks on it," he tells Democracy Now! It's very, very clear to all of us who have been on the ground in Gaza that the only way to try and stop this humanitarian catastrophe is for an immediate ceasefire."

Israel's Assault on Al-Shifa Hospital Enters 4th Day, Attacks Continue Throughout Gaza Strip, U.S. Submits Ceasefire Resolution to UNSC; Netanyahu Tells GOP Israel Will Continue Attacking Gaza, Lawmakers Pushing to Cut Off U.S. Funding for UNRWA for Another Year Amid Soaring Hunger in Gaza, Completely Contrary to Human Rights": AMLO Blasts Texas's SB4, Says Mexico Will not Accept Deportees, Georgia Executes Prisoner Willie Pye After 4-Year Pause in Capital Punishment, Two More Goon Squad" Officers Sentenced to 40 and 17.5 Years for Torture of Two Black Men, Assange's Lawyers Say No Deal on the Table After WSJ Reports DOJ Could Offer Plea Agreement, Irish Leader Leo Varadkar Resigns: The Time Has Come to Pass on the Baton", Hong Kong Passes New Hard-Line National Security Law, Further Aligning Territory with Beijing, Indonesian Election Authority Confirms Presidential Election Victory for Prabowo Subianto, EPA Announces New Limits on Tailpipe Emissions in Push to Transition to Electric Vehicles, Biden Administration Cancels Another $6 Billion in Federal Student loans, GOP Impeachment Campaign Against Biden Losing Steam as Even Conservative Support Wanes

Building on an unprecedented wave of settler violence in 2023, Israeli attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have intensified since October 7, with over 400 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and settlers over the past five months. Last week, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on three Israeli settlers and two Israeli outposts in the occupied West Bank for assaulting, harassing and threatening Palestinians, and violently expelling many from their land. Investigative journalist Shane Bauer traveled to the territory to map out the violence against Palestinians that has escalated since October 7, and visited the illegal outposts of two very dangerous men" targeted by the sanctions: Neria Ben-Pazi and Moshe Sharvit. The elephant in the room here is that [Moshe Sharvit], along with Neria Ben-Pazi, is supported by the state of Israel directly," says Bauer. According to the language of the sanctions, that would mean that the State of Israel itself and all the various organizations that are supporting him should themselves be sanctioned, but of course they haven't been." Bauer describes how the line between settlers and the army virtually disappeared after October 7," as far-right Israeli cabinet members push for a formalization of apartheid," in the West Bank.