‘We end today’s show looking at Israel’s war on Gaza and its impact on Palestinian children. More than 15,000 Palestinian children have been killed over the past eight months, and Palestinian officials are warning over 3,500 children are at risk of death due to starvation.’
“And, Janti, when you spoke at the United Nations in April, you said that more children have been killed in this conflict than have been killed in all armed conflicts globally over the past four years.”
“we estimate that over 80% of schools are either damaged or completely destroyed. What’s left of some of these schools are actually populated by people who are displaced. So there is no way schools can function at this point in Gaza”
‘Israel continues to pummel the Gaza Strip, where the official death toll has topped 36,500, with over 82,000 injured. Israel has killed at least 15,000 Palestinian children since October 7’
“We are the red line. The people are going to have to end this. People power has always been the change. Our government is not listening, and they are enabling this genocide. And so we have to be the disruptors and make it stop.”
‘Here in New York, as Pride Month gets underway, hundreds of queer activists took to the streets and staged a die-in, calling for a ceasefire and an end to U.S. funding for Israel’
Biden scrambles to make concessions as 'Israel' collapses from within
"Though Biden said “Israel” had “devastated” Hamas forces over the last 8 months, the US President’s haste and urgency in urging a ceasefire was motivated by the reality of the opposite"
What follows is a scathing analysis of where Israel is at.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Abu Hamza: "...it is “the horror of attrition that will drive the enemy out of Gaza.”"
At the Assemblée Nationale in France, MPs are not allowed to wave the Palestinian flag (one of them was expelled for doing so). Some left-wing MPs have found a solution …👌
Democrats are anticipating a large chunk of their caucus to sit out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin #Netanyahu'saddress to a #joint#session Congress.
Why it matters:
It would represent a significant repudiation of the Israeli prime minister amid persistent Democratic objections to how he has conducted the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu's 2015 speech to Congress, which was a major snub of the Obama administration, was skippedby 58 Democratic lawmakers.
Many Democrats this year argued against inviting Netanyahu in the first place, accusing Republicans of attempting to divide their party with the speech.
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) told Axios the #boycott "will be large" and that there are "a lot of people who are extremely upset he is coming here."
Jayapal said she has spoken to several lawmakers who went to Netanyahu's 2015 speech but said they will not attend this time.
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the progressive ranking member of the House Rules Committee, told Axios he will not attend and said: "I wish it wasn't [happening]."
Several other progressives previously told Axios when the speech was first floated in March that they would sit it out.
Some Democrats who have tried to balance their support for Israel and their discomfort with how the war has been prosecuted are struggling with whether to attend, as Axios previously reported.
One House Democrat, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said a lot of members will "wait up until the very end to decide" whether they will attend, calling it a "very fluid, unpredictable situation."
The lawmaker said that whether there is a #ceasefire in Gaza by the time Netanyahu speaks will be the key factor, predicting anywhere from 50 to 100 Democrats will skip the speech if the war is still raging.
Another, senior House Democrat said it is "all being discussed" and that "a number [of Democrats] are going and #disrupting" the speech.
The other side: Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), a senior Progressive Caucus member, told Axios he is "hoping to have a conversation about it."
Israel’s Seizure of #Gaza Border Zone Strains Ties With Egypt
Israel defied ominous Egyptian warnings & took control of the #PhiladelphiCorridor, but the reaction from #Egypt, which wants to maintain its #security cooperation with #Israel, has been muted.
The #IDF said another 4 #Israeli hostages abducted by #Hamas on #Oct7 had died in captivity & that their bodies are being held by the #Palestinian Islamist group.
The 4 were identified as Chaim Peri, 80, Yoram Metzger, 80, Amiram Cooper, 84, & Nadav Popplewell, 51.
All 4 were filmed alive in hostage videos posted by #Hamas.
#Hamas said that Popplewell had died of wounds sustained during an Israeli air strike when posting his video last month.
#IDF spox Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said that new intelligence led to confirmation of their deaths. The military believes the 4 were killed together in the southern #Gaza city of #KhanYounis a "number of months" ago when Israeli forces were operating in the city, Hagari said in remarks that were broadcast.
“We are thoroughly examining the circumstances of their deaths & checking all possibilities. We will present soon the findings, first to their families, & then to the public," he said. "We will present them w/transparency, as we have done until now."
Of the >250 people abducted on Oct. 7, about 120 remain in #Gaza, acc/to Israeli tallies. Many have been declared dead by Israeli authorities.
"Just hours after Biden delivered an unprecedented speech outlining what he said was an Israeli proposal for a permanent end to the war, Netanyahu sought to clarify and contradict the scope of the deal outlined by the US president"
"On Saturday, far-right government ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich publicly said that they would resign - and therefore collapse the Israeli government - if the deal were to be accepted,"
“My husband's siblings and their children now need urgent medical care. In order to achieve this, they need to leave the Gaza Strip for treatment, including the fitting of prosthetic limbs for my brother-in-law.”
“The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, views positively the contents of President Joe Biden's speech today, 31/05/2024, in which he called for a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction, and the exchange of prisoners. 1/
"Biden says proposal: 1st phase would last for 6 weeks -incl. -full & complete #ceasefire. Withdrawal of IL forces from all pop. areas of Gaza -release of a number of hostages, incl. women, the elderly, the wounded & in exchange the release of 100s of PA prisoners. PA civilians would return to their homes & neighborhoods in Gaza. Humanitarian assistance would surge, 600 trucks/day -aid safely/effectively distributed -100s of 1000s of temp. shelters..."
-L Rozan
Pres Biden’s Israel-Hamas proposal includes a call for a #ceasefire:
Ending the Gaza war: Three phase proposal:
Begin with a 6-week ceasefire, during which the IDF would withdraw from pop. areas of Gaza. Hamas would release "a number" of hostages -in exchange for 100s of PA prisoners -PA civilians would return to their homes in all areas of Gaza. #HumanitarianAid would "surge", with 600 trucks/day +100s of 1000s of temp. housing units-.
Hamas: We will not agree to negotiate if Israel continues the war.
Hamas announced that it had received from the mediators Israel's response to the proposal regarding a ceasefire in Gaza. "We have informed the mediators that we are ready to return to negotiations on a comprehensive agreement that will include a prisoner exchange if Israel stops the war in Gaza," he said. "We will not agree to negotiate if Israel continues the war."
“I would be very hard pressed to think of anyone who has said [Israeli obstruction] is not an issue,” Gilbert said. “That’s why I object to that report saying that Israel is not blocking humanitarian assistance. That is patently false.”