12/11/23 12/11/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> it disastrous that the security council was again prevented from rising to this moment to uphold its clear responsibilities in the face of this grave crisis, threatening

human lives and threatening regional and international peace and security. amy: israel is continuing to attack gaza after the united states vetoed a u.n. security council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire. we will get response and speak to a doctor in gaza who works at one of the last remaining functioning hospitals in the besieged enclave as the death toll in gaza reaches 18,000. >> for everything we are dying now. all over, actually, these rockets are everywhere. please, please stop this war, stop the genocide against us. please, please. i beg you. amy: plus, the state department is bypassing congress to send nearly 14,000 rounds of tank

ammunition to israel. and the university of pennsylvania president liz magill resigns. is this part of a broader effort to restrict pro-palestinian speech on campus? all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. israel's unrelenting assault on the gaza strip continues as the death toll has reached 18,000 palestinians killed in just over two months. air strikes rocked the nuseirat and maghazi refugee camps in central gaza overnight, killing at least 23 people died in maghazi. air strikes also struck at least two residential homes in rafah. meanwhile, the ground battle is pushing ahead in khan younis, which is under heavy bombardment. gazan women say israeli soldiers forced them to leave their

husbands and sons behind and flee their gaza city homes. they spoke from the al-aqsa hospital in central deir al-balah where they were taking refuge. >> they made us go to the south. they did not let us wait for our husbands. this had go to the south from here and that is it. they made asleep. they lied to us and made us think the road was safe but they shot at is the entire way. cooksey said our mail -- we asked about the children and they said all of them are gone. gaza is gone. amy: the mass displacement and war on the besieged territory has led to a public health disaster. the u.n.'s world food programme warns half of gaza's population of over 2 million people is starving and that nine out of 10 people are not able to eat every day. as clean water becomes more

scarce, diarrhea and skin infections, scabies, measles are multiplying. earlier today, the world health organization passed a resolution calling for immediate humanitarian aid access and an end to fighting in gaza. in the occupied west bank and jerusalem, usually busy streets and commercial areas are empty today in observance of a general strike for gaza. global actions are also taking place today, including marches and calls to refrain from buying anything. meanwhile, a u.n. peacekeeping force in lebanon is warning the likelihood of a wider conflict is increasing amid escalating cross-border violence between israel and hezbollah. the u.n. general assembly is holding a special session tuesday after egypt and mauritania invoked resolution 377, known as uniting for peace. the move came in response to the u.s. on friday again vetoing a u.n. security council resolution

calling for an urgent ceasefire in gaza. resolution 377 is designed to be deployed when the security council fails to "exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security." turkish president tayyip erdogan called for the u.n. body to be reformed saturday following the u.s. veto. >> with the torment in gaza, we believe this helpless and dysfunctional structure of the united nations will be questioned all over the world. i am saying openly nothing can continue as business as usual after gaza. amy: meanwhile, the u.s. state department bypassed congressional review to approve the emergency sale of over $100 million in tank ammunition to israel. we will deal with this issue later in the broadcast. the president of the university of pennsylvania has stepped down

following intense republican-led backlash after her handling of anti-semitism on campus and a contentious testimony before congress last week. president liz magill's resignation saturday followed by board of trustees chair scott bock, came amid a mounting attack on students calling for palestinian rights on campus. right-wing new york congressmember elise stefanik grilled mcgill during her testimony wrote on social media, "one down two to go." she also seeks the ouster of harvard and m.i.t. presidents, both who testified at the congressional hearing. in dubai, members of the oil producer alliance opec+ are blocking progress toward a global agreement to phase out the world's use of fossil fuels as the u.n.'s cop28 climate summit in dubai barrels towards

its conclusion led by saudi tuesday. arabia, delegates from opec countries backed by coal, oil, and gas lobbyists have rejected any draft text that even mentions fossil fuels. this is democratic massachusetts senator ed markey speaking from the sidelines of the cop28 talks on sunday. >> the cop should conclude with a final statement that says the world wants to end this addiction, once to phase out fossil fuels. opec does not want to phaseout fossil fuels. they made that very clear yesterday. amy: on saturday, hundreds marched within the u.n. summit site calling for the end of the burning of fossil fuels and a cease-fire in gaza. >> we're here to defend a

phaseout of fossil fuels. amy: the demonstrations were met with heavy censorship. protesters saw their movements sharply restricted, were barred from displaying national flags, and were given strict limits on what their signs could say and what slogans they were allowed to chant. another group rallied to demand the release of pro-democracy activists detained in the united arab emirates and egypt were not allowed to hold up signs bearing the names of the political prisoners. they did under those names anyway. a human rights watch researcher called the crackdown a "shocking level of censorship in a space that had been guaranteed to have basic freedoms protected like freedom of expression, assembly and association." the texas supreme court has temporarily blocked a lower-court ruling that would have allowed a 20-week pregnant woman to get an abortion. ken paxton, texas' republican attorney general, intervened to

stop the emergency procedure and threatened to prosecute any abortion providers involved in giving 31-year-old kate cox an abortion. doctors have told her carrying the nonviable pregnancy to term could make it impossible for her to have more children. cox's lawyer at the center for reproductive rights says that even if the texas supreme court allows the lower court order to stay in place, the delay in treatment could mean "justice delayed will be justice denied." meanwhile, a pregnant woman in kentucky is suing over her state's near-total-ban on abortions. the lawsuit argues the ban violates kentucky's constitution. the plaintiff is also seeking class-action status so that any positive outcome can be applied to all pregnant people in kentucky who need or want an abortion. this is rebecca gibron, head of planned parenthood kentucky, which is also a plaintiff in the case.

>> in america every eight hours a woman dies from pregnancy complications. evidence is correlating abortion ban is a key factor driving increasing maternal and infant death rates. tragically, kentucky has one of the highest maternal death rates in this country. amy: a judge in michigan has sentenced the oxford high school mass shooter to multiple life sentences without parole. ethan crumbley was just 15 when he opened fire on the school in november 2021, killing four people and injuring seven others. this is a former student and survivor speaking at the sentencing hearing. >> i am a survivor of gun violence. i am a survivor of a terrible epidemic caused by a broken system, but i refuse to be known

as victim at the hands of an individual with no regard for others. his selfishness will not consume my identity. i am so much more than a victim. amy: in argentina, far-right libertarian javier milei has been sworn in as president. he delivered an overall speech -- inaugural speech sunday. >> there is no alternative to adjustment and there is no other alternative to shock. naturally, this will have a negative impact on the level of activity, employment, wages. amy: javier milei is a climate crisis denier who has proposed banning abortion and easing restrictions on guns. he has also vowed to shut down argentina's central bank, replace the nation's currency with the u.s. dollar. and the children of jailed iranian human rights leader narges mohammadi accepted the nobel peace prize on behalf of their mother at a ceremony in oslo, norway sunday. 17-year-old twins kiana and ali

rahmani, who live in france, read their mother's speech, which was smuggled out of tehran's evin prison. this is ali. >> the reality is the regime of the islamic republic is at its lowest level of legitimacy and popular support, situated in a position of unstable equilibrium and the emergence of any element as a catalyst for change will mark the final form of population policies and transition from religious -- amy: narges mohammadi started a new hunger strike the day of the nobel ceremony in solidarity with the persecuted baha'i religious minority. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show looking at allegations that universities have failed to address threats of violence against jewish students following a contentious hearing on anti-semitism and a broader effort to restrict pro-palestinian speech on campus.

on saturday, the university of pennsylvania president elizabeth magill resigned her position over fallout from last tuesday's house education committee hearing. the board chair scott bock who announced her resignation, he also resigned soon after. magill was questioned along with harvard president claudine gay and m.i.t. president sally kornbluth by the right wing new york republican and trump ally elise stefanik. this is stefanik questioning gay first, then magill. >> it is a yes or no question. let me ask you this, you're president of harvard so i'm assuming you are familiar with the term intifada. >> i've heard the term. >> you understand the use of it in the context of the israeli conflict is a call for armed resistance against the state of

israel, including violence against civilians and the genocide of jews? are you aware that? >> that type of hateful speech is personally abhorrent to me. >> will admissions officers be rescinded or any action taken against students or applicants who say from the river to the sea or intifada advocating for the murder of jews? >> as i have said, that type of hateful speech is personally abhorrent to me. >> is calling for the genocide of jews violatepenn's rules or conduct? >> it can be harassment, yes. >> i'm asking specifically calling for the genocide of jews , does that constitute bullying or harassment? >> if it is directed -- it is harassment.

>> so the answer is yes? >> it is a context-dependent decision. amy: that is university of pennsylvania president elizabeth magill. she announced her resignation saturday and will remain a tenured law professor at the school. major donors to the university of pennsylvania had demanded mcgill's resignation since september after she refused to cancel the palestine rights literature festival on campus. new york republican congress member elise stefanik herself faced scrutiny for campaign as she ran last year that echoed donald and appeared to promote the white supremacist great replacement theory that jews want to replace and disempower white americans. she made similar comments after the mass shooting in buffalo, new york, that was inspired by the replacement theory. after news of magill's resignation, stefanik called for the ouster of the harvard and m.i.t. presidents, writing on social media, "one down, two to

go." she was echoed by trump. pres. trump: thank, elise. what a job she has done. i watched the way she was asking the questions and they were asked and a very complex way. these women, i guess they're smart, but they were really dmub answers. they were asked in a very complex way in these people had no idea what the hell they were doing. i guess they're all going to be losing their job the next day or two. one down, to to go. amy: this comes as harvard president claudine gay has growing support, some 600 professors signed a petition against calls for her to step down this weekend. the schools board of directors met sunday. congress member stefanik is a harvard alumni and was removed from a harvard advisory board in

2021 over her comments about voter fraud in the 2020 election that had "no basis in evidence." for more, we're joined by peter beinart, editor-at-large of jewish currents. as well and msnbc contributor. and omer bartov is professor of holocaust and genocide studies at brown university. the israeli-american author of numerous books, his books include recently, "genocide, the holocaust and israel-palestine: first-person history in times of crisis." he has been described by the u.s. holocaust memorial museum as one of the world's leading specialists on the subject of genocide. peter beinart, let's begin with you. your response to the congressional hearing and the grilling of the three women presidents of m.i.t., harvard, and upenn and the resignation of

upenn president mcgill as well as the chair of the board of trustees got bock who announced her resignation then resigned himself. >> this really isn't about those individuals. it is about the fact that given the extraordinary slaughter that is happening in gaza, there is a movement on college campuses and across america for a cease-fire and to end american complicity in that slaughter. and in response to that, the effort is now to try to limit the ability of people who want to protest u.s. policy and support palestinian rights from being able to organize on college campuses. so the reason you're going after these presidents is to try to set a precedence and bring in people who will be much tougher on restricting the ability of students and faculty and others who want to organize politically against this war in gaza.

this is what this is about. amy: and if you can talk about exactly what happened? for people who missed it this past week? we just played an excerpt of the questioning by stefanik -- it went on for hours, the overall congressional testimony, but it came down to these points. in this is a critical point. she said, it is a yes or no question, let me ask you this, or president of harvard so i assume you're familiar with the term intifada, correct? and president gay says, i've heard that term. congress member stefanik says, you understand the use of the term intifada in the context of the israeli, arab comfort is a call for violent armed resistance against the state of israel, including violence against civilians and the genocide of jews? this was the question they were asked. elaborate on that, peter beinart

, and talk about your responses. >> the premise of the question was just nonsense. the premise of the question is intifada, which essentially means uprising, is the equivalent of an attempt at genocide at jews. intifada is a term that has been used even in uprisings against arab governments. intifada can take nonviolent forms. the first intifada had a lot of nonviolence. the second tragically involved suicide bombings. but these were uprisings in the context of oppression. it is like saying a craning uprising against russians that also killed russian civilians would be an attempt at russian genocide. it makes no sense. but the problem was these presidents, because they were not willing to just because they were so lawyered up and defensive in their answers, that they basically accepted the premise and then put in this reading this position where they -- when they did not say would

be unacceptable for people to call for the genocide of jews. of course it would be unacceptable for people to call for the genocide of jews, but that is not what was happening. amy: i want to bring omer bartov and to this discussion. you're considered one of the leading scholars on genocide. go to the second point. congress member stefanik was asking a college president, she said, well, let me ask you this -- will admission offers be rescinded for any disciplinary action be taken against students or applicants who say from the river to the sea, or fight at, advocating the murder of jews, equating from the river to the sea and intifada with the murder of jews? can you respond to this? also explained that term and how it is been used by both hamas but also protesters and the

likud party in israel. >> thank you for having me. first of all, i what to agree with what peter was saying. i think this whole debate is so offkilter. the terms that are being used, are being misused, and not being challenged by these three presidents who should have been better prepared -- not by their lawyers, but to have studied the issue itself and have spoken about how they think about it. using the term intifada is wrong , as peter was saying, it means "uprising." uprising against oppression should be supported. using the term "from the river to the sea," can mean all kinds of things. there are 7 million jews living

between the river and the sea and 7 million palestinians. historically, speaking about from the river to the sea or in fact both banks of the river in the traditional zionist revisionist ideology meant the jews should be in control of the land of israel. i apologize. amy: repeat that point. >> sorry. the term "from the river to the sea," or greater israel, which means the land of israel, that land stretches between the jordan -- amy: we are hearing you find. >> sorry, i'm getting an interruption here. it means the land between the jordan and thesea and for some of the traditional revisionist movement, the right wing of the

zionist party, mitt across the river, even east of the river into what is now known as the jordan. to say that is an anti-semitic term or calls for the genocide of the jews is nonsense. it can mean if you look at it from the point of view from the israeli right that jews have the right to rule over all the land of israel. and many of the people who are now in netanyahu's government, the settler right-wing jewish supremacy, they would like to rule over all the land and they would like the palestinians to go away, to agree to be ruled over by the jews. it can also mean the opposite. if you look at what hamas has been saying, it can mean the exact opposite. hamas wants to create an

islamic-palestinian state where jews would either have no rule or would have to be living in much smaller numbers and be tolerated. and so it does not mean what people say unless you ask them what do they mean. in that sense, putting these three presidents to answer these questions, to my mind, a, they should have said, look, if you speak about genocide, no one should condone genocide, not of jews or or anyone else. if you're speaking about intifada or political slogans, get excited what they are. but beyond that, i have to say this whole discussion seems to be the least important issue. what is most important is israel has been conducting a war for weeks and weeks which it has

killed thousands and thousands of palestinians. it has moved them to very small part of the gaza strip. it has destroyed their property and has not even made a commitment to allow them to return. and has been doing that with enormous amounts of american supplied munitions. not only rockets, but tank shells, artillery shells, and anti-rockets rockets. and that has to stop. there has to be a political plan as to how to move to the next day, which is what netanyahu is refusing to do. this is the main issue, not how we talk about politics on american campuses. that is useful to talk about it, but it is not the main emergency issue right now to my mind. amy: you are in paris, france, but generally are in cambridge and your professor at round university in providence -- brown university in providence.

what should claudine gay, the president of harvard, do you feel at this point, should she do? hundreds of harvard professors have rallied around her. i also wanted to ask about the brown university student hisham who was shot with two other palestinian students in burlington, could well be paralyzed, a horrifying situation -- i think there's no question that antisemitism is increasing around the country and that it is very serious. and also islamophobia. >> yes. both increasing. we should do everything we can against them. what has happened with hisham and the other two palestinian students is horrible. in some ways, i would say it reflects both the heated discussion that we have about israel-palestine and the kind of

gun violence we have in america quite separately from what is happening in the middle east. as for resignations of presidents, i think this would be terrible. i totally support -- i am not a harvard faculty. my wife is. but i totally support those people who have come out against her resignation. i think it would give completely the wrong signal because the pressure is coming in large part from donors. that will create an impression that there is pressure from my need people, -- moneied people, people identified with jewish interest, right wing israelid, israeli governments to control speech. just as there has been -- i must

say those reflected in the response by these presidents, great committee in saying anything that is not correct speech to correct the other way to try to control it in a way that does not allow criticism of israel presents criticism of israel has anti-semitism and to do it by firing, for instance, at harvard the first african-american president of harvard would be an absolute disaster. i totally oppose it. amy: i want to end up asking peter beinart about democratic congress member -- republican congress member's to phonic and her history. this is democratic congress member jamie raskin of maryland speaking on msnbc. >> with lax republican gun laws, which to seriously anybody who is making any kind of violent threats, especially genocidal

threats. having said that, where does elise stefanik get off lecturing anybody about anti-semitism when she is the hugest supporter of donald trump who traffics in anti-semitism all the time? she did not utter a people protest when he had kanye west over for dinner. nick fuentes, who doubts whether october 7 even took place because he things it was some kind of suspicious propaganda move by the israelis. the republican party is filled with people who are entangled with anti-semitism like that and yet somehow she gets on her high horse and lectures jewish college president from m.i.t. >> last year, republican congress member elise stefanik of new york was criticized for seeming to enjoy's -- endorse the racist "great replacement" conspiracy theory, the white supremacist theory maintains that white people are being replaced by people of color and that democrats are deliberately trying to deluge the u.s. with immigrants in order to gain an electoral advantage.

we all know what happened in charlottesville, the mass protest where the trump supporting white supremacist kept repeating "jews will not replace us." peter beinart, can you respond to the woman who is taking these women presidents, at least attempting to and succeeded in the case of upenn president mcgill, down? >> first of all, there's terminus irony and the fact police to phonic is supposedly so upset about people saying palestine will be free from the river to the sea because she supports the distance of one country which denies palestinians basic rights between the river and the sea. as for the idea she has some great concern for jews, as you said, she has trafficked in the same great replacement theory. it is what motivated the pittsburgh shooter because of this insane idea that jews are bringing in black and brown immigrants into the united states to replace white people.

police to phonic does not actually -- elise stefanik does not actually care about jews. she believes in a white christian state and the united states and she is sympathetic to forces in israel that believe in jewish supremacist state because fundamentally she's hostile to the basic principle that people should be treated equally under the law irrespective of race, religion, or ethnicity. she is hostile to it in the united states and it that is what motivates her. amy: we will continue to cover this issue. peter beinart, editor-at-large of jewish currents. omer bartov is professor of holocaust and genocide studies at brown university. author of number books, including most recently, "genocide, the holocaust and israel-palestine: first-person history in times of crisis." next up, the state department's bypassing congress to send nearly 14,000 rounds of take a

munition to israel. we will speak to josh paul who resigned from the state department to protest the biden administration's push to increase arms sales to israel amidst its siege on gaza. back in 20 seconds. ♪ [music break] amy: "little boxes" performed by malvina reynolds. this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman. as the death toll in gaza nears 18,000, the biden administration 's bypassing congress to approve

the sale of 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition to israel. the sale is valued at more than $106 million. secretary of state tony blinken informed congress of the plan on friday night saying, "an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale." congress was notified just hours after the united states vetoed a u.n. security council calling for a gaza ceasefire. democratic senator chris van hollen of maryland criticized the state department's decision to bypass congress. he told "the new york times" -- "the administration's decision to short-circuit what is already a quick time frame for congressional review undermines transparency and weakens accountability." we are joined now by josh paul. in october, he resigned from the state department to protest the biden administration's push to increase arms sales to israel amidst its siege on gaza. josh paul had served as director of congressional and public affairs for the bureau of political-military affairs in the state department, which

oversees arms transfers to israel and other nations. josh paul, your response to this move friday night? >> first of all, thank you for having me. i think what this move demonstrates is that nothing has changed in u.s. policy. two months into this awful conflict, must 20,000 deaths later, so much suffering later, u.s. policy remains that we'll continue to flow arms to israel and support its operation in gaza. i think we have heard secretary blinken and other saying there needs to be a reduction to civilian casualties but i think actions speak louder than words. i've been thinking a lot these past weeks of lewis carroll's w ar, usb moaning palestinian debts and yet continue to provide the arms that are consuming the people of gaza, it is extremely problematic and distressing.

amy: secretary of state pompeo under trump previously used the emergency provision in 2019 for arms sales to saudi arabia and the uae. can you talk about the financial scale of over $1.8 billion and the types of weaponry purchased during that time and how that relates to now? >> i think that is an interesting counterpart to what is happening now. at that time, secretary pompeo under president trump was supporting the saudi-led coalition in yemen. many thousands of civilians, hundreds of thousands, died as well. many of them through the use of u.s. bombs. the first thing president biden did upon coming to office in the space was to suspend arms transfers to the saudi-led coalition of precision guided munitions precisely because he cared about the civilian casualties.

yet here he is using the same authority as president trump and secretary pompeo to override congressional will, oversight. i think one thing we need to keep an eye on is in the wake of the decision to use the decision -- emergency authority under president trump, congress moved forward with -- the senate has 27 joint resolutions of disapproval to block these arms transfers after ruled by the senate parliamentarian they could do so. amy: josh paul, can you talk specifically about the 120 millimeter high explosive antitank multipurpose with tracer and peck tank cartridges that are part of this deal? i probably said some part of that wrong. >> i think you got it right. those are essentially standard issue tank shells that will be

used by israel's main battle tanks that are currently pushing through khan younis in the south of gaza and the same tanks and sort of shells that on october 13 killed civilians in lebanon, including a reuters reporter and an incident that both amnesty and human rights watch has described as intentional and targeted. part of the arms transfer review process is to ask whether or not such weapons we are providing will be used to commit human rights abuses. i think we now secretly or record -- clear record of these weapons used in human rights abuses in this conflict and yet here we are still flowing them to israel. amy: before we go, we spoke to you soon after he resigned from the state department in october. this was in the midst of israel 's the environment of gaza which came after the october 7 surprise attack on israel that killed 1200.

can you talk about the response of your colleagues at the state department? have others resigned in other parts of the government? >> we have seen from the u.n. senior official resigned, we have not seen significant resignations within the u.s. government. but i have heard from many of my former colleagues who are trying to find what mechanisms they can use to slow this down, to change the policy. i fear their efforts continued to be in vain. we need to see and policy change from the top. i know a lot of good people i know a lot of good people are continue to make the argument. amy: my last question two goes back to 2021. in a recent cnn interview, discussed a disturbing story of a 13-year-old palestinian child raped by israeli forces. can you outline what you understand happened? >> there was a report by a charity in which this child had

been taken into israeli custody, which is a question we should be asking why there are children in israeli custody, who was raped by his prison guard as part of his interrogation. this report came to the state department's interrogation -- attention. we raised it with israel. the next day, the idf, israeli security forces, went into the charity's offices and ransacked it and several months later declared them and other palestinian ngos a terrorist organization. i think sexual violence is such a horrifically bent and we need to condemn it wherever it happens, whether it happens in the kibbutz of israel or the prison of israel. amy: josh paul, veteran state department official who worked on arms deals and resigned in protest of a push to increase

arms sales to israel amid its -- the gaza bombardment. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we turn now to look at how the biden administration is facing widespread condemnation for vetoing a u.n. security council resolution calling for a ceasefire in gaza. palestinian u.n. envoy riyad mansour criticized the u.s. veto. >> it is disastrous that the security council once again prevented from rising to this moment to uphold its clear responsibilities in the face of this grave crisis, threatening human lives and threatening regional and international peace and security. amy: the u.s. deputy ambassador to the united nations robert wood defended the u.s. decision to veto the ceasefire resolution. >> united states engaged in good

faith. we proposed language with the nightwork constructive resolution that would have reinforced the lifesaving diplomacy we have since october 7, increased opportunities for humanitarian aid to enter gaza, encouraged the release of hostages, and the resumption of humanitarian pauses and laid a foundation for durable peace. unfortunately, nearly all of our recommendations were ignored. and the result of this rush process, in a balanced resolution that was divorced from reality and would not move the needle forward on the ground, in any concrete way. and so we regretfully could not support it. amy: the united nations general assembly will hold an emergency session on a gaza ceasefire tuesday. to talk more about the u.s. veto of the you and secure to counsel calling -- u.n. security council

calling for a ceasefire in gaza, we are joined by shibley telhami, professor of peace and development at the university of maryland. also a senior fellow at the center for middle east policy. he's co-editor of the book "the one state reality: what is israel/palestine?" thank you for joining us. talk about the significance and the reaction to the u.s. veto of the gaza cease-fire resolution. >> extraordinary act. think about it this way. whatever the u.s. says, there were 13 members, including pro-u.s. members like france who voted for the resolution. only one other country did not vote were abstained, the u.k., sticking with u.s. this is the u.s. trying to dig a leadership role globally on many issues, including ukraine, and it goes against a global consensus on an issue that is humanitarian. this resolution did not call for

an end to the fighting, a call for humanitarian cease-fire. every humanitarian organization and aid in his asian -- eight organization, they say it is impossible to address the humanitarian crisis in gaza without a cease-fire. you can't just trickle it in. the knees are so massive that you need a cease-fire to deal with that. if you look at it also from the point of view american public opinion, have a majority of americans, according to polls, who supported cease-fire. you have from the president's points of view two thirds of democrats who do not approve of the israeli military action in gaza. it is not just democrats. you have essentially two thirds of people of color come as gallup polls have done, including african-americans, asian americans, native

americans, majority two thirds of young people of all types, not just democrats, who oppose -- disapprove the operations. you have a majority of women. essentially, every major constituency in the democratic party who wants this and the president goes against it in the international community. think about what that does to america's standing in the world, let alone the continuation of the death and destruction in gaza. i want to say it is a puzzle for me as someone who has known the president before he became president, somebody who's been watching -- i am a realist in terms of how politics take place. i am still shocked by the degree to which this decision that has been taken vis-à-vis this particular crisis after october 7 has been a personal decision by the president of united states. it was his preferences, his

believes -- rather it seems to me than the consequences for american foreign policy and for america's national interest. which have been huge from the beginning. it could have been anticipated his massive support and even the backing of the idea of drum strolling -- destroying hamas was going to lead to mass destruction and gaza and therefore also bring possible blowback on the u.s. because the u.s. is now seen as a sponsor of this work, as a party to this war. there's is a danger blowback that would be devastating across much of the arab muslim world that we see now. there is also the chance of escalation that we see in lebanon and perhaps even bringing iran in a way that would be usually detrimental to the u.s. the idea that you support israel 's right, of course, israel has

a right to defend itself. every country does. but to give that government to define what is a right of self-defense when you know members of this government who want a lot more than self-defense, including things that are at odds with american interests and values and to give them license to do so, including the possibility of throwing the u.s. into war with iran, that is shocking to me as an analyst viewing this episode. . in american foreign policy amy: shibley telhami, thank you for spinning this time thus, professor of peace and development at the university of maryland. senior fellow at the center for middle east policy. next up, we speak to a doctor in gaza. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the united nations palestinian aid agency unrwa is warning society in gaza is "on the brink of full-blown collapse" as

israel continues its devastating assault. it has killed 18,000 palestinians in gaza, including over 7000 children. we turn now to a doctor in gaza, ahmed moghrabi, who works in nasser hospital in khan younis, one of few hospitals still functioning in southern gaza. we reached him yesterday. >> i am talking to you from nasser hospital south of gaza in khan younis. i am working as the head of plastic department. it has been 64 days since the aggression started against gaza. i am working since the beginning of this war. i'm so exhausted.

all the injured people from explosions. seriously injured. i am working since early morning to midnight every day. we are here at the hospital, it is like a siege. all troops -- it is real massacre all over as you see the pictures. you would be shocked. no words can describe what is going on here. what is going on here is a real tuna site. hunt -- is a real genocide. hundreds of thousands of people because of these attacks, they are attacking schools. oh, my god. i can't describe.

it is a massacre. a massacre is what is going on here. entire families are without. psychological disorder to see -- it is a horror what is going on here. my god, hope this will end soon. if you hear me -- i thought we were alone here. we are living in a big prison. nobody listens to us.

nobody wants to adopt our palestinian narrative. everybody listens to the israeli near to possibly sent to the palestinian narrative. we are living here under siege. we are human beings. me, like you, i'm a human being. i want to live in peace. i want a better future for my children. that is what i want. israel is supported by the whole war. on the other hand, nobody gives us even food. i can't find food or clean water. i can't find clean water to drink. i cannot find food. i eat only once a day. yes, once a day. i can't afford my children food. i can't see my children because i can't provide food for living.

i can't. i can't provide this for you my children. we eat once a day, simple rice. my little child two years old asked me -- nothing here. we are from starvation. we are dying now. these rockets over our heads everywhere. please, stop this war. stop the genocide against us. stop this war, please. please, please, i beg you. amy: dr. ahmed moghrabi. we end today show with dr. tarek loubani, emergency room medical doctor who works at the london health sciences center. in 2018, dr. loubani was among 19 medics shot by the israeli military in gaza.

in october, he was arrested for nonviolently protesting for a ceasefire. he is a palestinian refugee and a member of the glia project creating open-source medical devices for low-resource settings. you hear your colleague at nasser hospital talking about not being able to feed his own children, not to mention what is happening in the hospital. dr. loubani, you're in constant contact with medical staff in gaza. tell us what you understand at this point. >> what the doctor was saying is what we hear all across the gaza strip from the hospitals there. the situation is not detouring on collapse, it has just the medical system has fully collapsed. the only reason we are using these words to mitigate the devastation and absolute collapse is because the absolute bravery and incredible resourcefulness of the palestinian doctors who have done just an amazing job trying to provide care for the

patients. these are doctors who themselves, like he said, are starving, literally starving. they themselves are getting killed, are being arrested, or having their families harmed and still they show up to work every day to face a new day of horrors. amy: they are telling doctors to leave their patients, particularly northern gaza, and move south. also doctors like the head of the hospital in northern gaza are being arrested. can you talk about what you understand at this point? >> the arrests are a new dimension here. we have always been used to a doctor here and there being killed. however, we've had over 250, think even up to 300 now, health care workers who have been killed during this war on gaza. as well one of the first

arrested. i can tell you the story of one of my students, a young doctor who graduated only a couple of years ago, who i have been teaching throughout his residency. he is an emergency medicine doctor. he was the valedictorian. the highest-ranking student in his medical class. a delightful human being who has never stopped smiling and then was arrested because he would not leave his patients until it was too late. he was at the l shiva hospital. that is -- his story is one of 41 stories that we have so far. only a few have been released. whether people tell us is they are being -- what the people tell us as they are being tortured right now. they are being "interrogated stop i know this because i have been in israeli jails and been tortured and beaten. i know what they are experiencing.

that was for me as a young canadian, now what the israelis are convinced are doing bad things despite the fact all they have done war throughout this war and ever is to take care of their patients. amy: if you can talk about the warnings that the death toll could be dwarfed by those who die of diseases now, with the lack of clean water, the close proximity of everyone now being pushed south, diseases like diarrhea, scabies, measles, meningitis, acute viral hepatitis -- what do you understand? >> before this war, the hospitals in gaza were full because things happen to people day by day. now those chronic diseases, people with those chronic diseases like diabetes or diseases that need medications or cancers, those

patients are starting to die. it is too, going on three months now they have not been able to receive proper care. that means proper medical care. the foundations of life are not proper medical care, they are food, water, psychological safety. people are starting to die from those things as well. we already had our first starvation deaths. typically they are the very young and very old. as time goes on, we will see these deaths come in from the margins. right now the normal palestinian has not -- in gaza, has not been able to eat or drink for weeks if not months. when we are talking about the treatment of many of these problems they're facing right now, the treatment is proper food, rest, clean water. and those things are not available. yes, the predictions right now is that in the next few weeks, it will be like falling from a

cliff and we will see 20,000, 30,000 people dying. amy: dr. tarek loubani, thank you for being with us, emergency room doctor joining us from london, ontario, spent years traveling to and working in gaza. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or