01/10/24 01/10/24 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> facing an enemy that embeds itself among civilians, who fires from schools, hospitals, makes this incredibly challenging. the daily toll on gazans in -- it is far too high. amy: secretary of state anthony

blinken refuses to call for a cease-fire as he continues his mideast tour. we'll speak with the first biden political appointee to resign over the administration's policies in gaza. >> i am a former biden administration political appointee. i was the first political appointee to resign from my position in the administration due to the ongoing administration's policies with respect to means of palestinian lives in gaza. amy: then is israel using starvation as a weapon of war in gaza? >> at least one million palestinians in the gaza strip, half of them children, are starving. they are starving because of israel's deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war against the people it occupied.

amy: we'll go to tel aviv to speak with israeli human rights group b'tselem about their new report "israel is starving gaza," which finds that starvation is not a byproduct of war but a direct result of israel's declared policy. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. israel has intensified its bombing and ground assault in central and southern gaza. dozens of people were killed in overnight attacks, including in the so-called safe zone of rafah city. in the occupied west bank, u.s. secretary of state antony blinken met with palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas in ramallah as protesters outside condemned the u.s.'s funding and backing of israel's devastating assault on gaza,

which has now killed over 23,000 palestinians in just over months. three on tuesday, blinken met with prime minister benjamin netanyahu reaffirming the u.s.'s unique bond with israel and advocating for a regional resolution "that includes a pathway to a palestinian state." blinken addressed reporters from tel aviv. >> we want this war to end as soon as possible. there has been far too much loss of life, too much suffering. it is vital israel achieve it's very legitimate objectives of ensuring that october 7 can never happen again. in these meetings i was also crystal clear, palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow. they must not be pressed to leave gaza. amy: blinken also rejected south africa's genocide case against israel at the international

court of justice, which starts thursday, as meritless. a staggering 1.9 million gazans have been displaced, over 85% of the population. this is eight-year-old abdel jaber mohammed al-farra in khan younis, who was forced to flee his home with his father and younger brother. >> were living safely. now we are left in the streets. we are staying in the street. we have no place or anything. i never saw bombing like this in my life. i was in third grade. i did not complete my school year. this is something i never saw in my life. the situation is very tragic. we are asking all countries to send aid, to open the rough of order -- rough border crossing. amy: academics for peace, a grassroots group of

israeli-american and jewish-american scholars, have released a petition with over 2000 signatures, including five nobel laureates, calling on the u.s. to lead negotiations on an immediate ceasefire, a hostage-prisoner exchange, and getting humanitarian aid to gaza. academics for peace write -- "75 years of displacement, 56 years of occupation, and 16 years of blockade have generated an ever-worsening spiral of violence that can only be stopped with a political solution." the san francisco board of supervisors on tuesday passed a resolution calling for a sustained ceasefire in gaza. it's the latest municipality to call for a ceasefire even as the u.s. government refuses to do so. last week, bridgeport became the first city in connecticut to adopt such a measure and the albany common council also approved a ceasefire resolution. meanwhile, protests continue against lawmakers who refuse to

demand a cease-fire and an end to u.s. support for israel's assault. in revere, massachusetts, constituents of democratic whip katherine clark held a procession carrying white bundles to represent the shrouded bodies the more-than-9000 children who have been killed in gaza. the protest ended in front of clark's home where palestinian-americans delivered speeches. this is lea kayali. >> i will not appeal to your full sense of morality. it is obvious politicians like you only speak the language of power. so hear me when i say this, do not underestimate our power. we, your constituents come are your bosses. and as people of conscience, we charge you, representative clark, with genocide. amy: here in new york, constituents of congressmember elise stefanik sent a letter urging the republican lawmaker to "resign immediately for your

aiding and abetting genocide of palestinians in gaza by voting to send arms to the idf to perpetrate the crime in violation of the genocide convention." judges for the d.c. circuit court of appeals expressed skepticism as they heard arguments from donald trump's legal team over his 2020 election subversion case. trump's lawyers claimed he should receive immunity from criminal charges, arguing a president can only be charged with a crime if they've already been impeached and convicted by congress. this is judge florence pan questioning attorney d. john sauer as trump looked on. >> can president order seal team six to assassinate a political rival as an official act? >> he would have to be impeached and convicted before --

>> there would be no criminal liability for that? >> [indiscernible] all clearly what the founders were concerned about -- >> it is a yes or no question. could a president order seal team six to assassinate a political rival when not impeached, would he be subject to criminal persecution? >> if you were impeached and convicted first. amy: following the hearing, trump warned of bedlam if the justice department's case against him damages his chances at re-election. trump also warned he'd go after biden if re-elected. pres. trump: he has to be careful because that can happen to him also. the next president, whoever that may become has a statute of limitations that goes back six years. that is a long time, joe. you have to be very careful.

amy: ecuador's president daniel noboa on tuesday declared a state of internal armed conflict as drug trafficking violence continues to soar. the move prompted a wave of attacks inside and outside of ecuador's prisons. noboa's announcement came a day after one of ecuador's most notorious drug lords escaped from prison and as hooded and armed men interrupted a live tv news broadcast taking the staff hostage. noboa designated at least 20 drug trafficking organizations as terrorist groups, authorizing ecuador's military to do whatever it takes to suppress the crime factions. >> from this moment, all terrorist groups is a military target. the present and future of our homeland is at stake. any active tear will make -- any active tear will make us given.

came you could norwegian lawmakers -- amy: norwegian lawmakers voted 80-to-20 in favor of allowing deep sea mining despite widespread warnings and condemnation from scientists, environmentalists as well as the u.k. government and the european union. norway's government says seabed exploitation could help power an economy less reliant on fossil fuels. one of the earth's remaining untouched habitats, the deep sea, contains raw materials including cobalt, zinc, and gold. under norway's new plans, companies will have to apply for exploration licenses and exploitation permits. the environmental justice foundation called the decision "an irrevocable black mark on norway's reputation as a responsible ocean state," adding -- "we know so little about the deep ocean, but we know enough to be sure that mining it will wipe out unique wildlife, disturb the world's largest carbon store, and do nothing to speed the transition to clean economies."

last year was the hottest year on record. the pentagon has vowed to do better after defense secretary lloyd austin's prostate cancer diagnosis was disclosed tuesday. president biden received the news about the same time as the general public. this comes after revelations biden and top pentagon officials were also kept in the dark for several days about austin's hospitalization last week following complications from the treatment. white house chief of staff jeff zients ordered a review of cabinet protocols for delegating authority, while some republican lawmakers are calling for austin to step down amid the mounting controversy. austin's doctors say he is expected to make a full recovery. here in new york, the first group of migrants families have been evicted from their temporary shelter as city officials begin to enforce a 60-day limit.

about 40 migrant families were forced to leave a hotel in midtown manhattan tuesday, with some reapplying for access to shelter as they have nowhere else to go. >> we are human beings and need to be relocated because we need a roof to stay under, more now that it is colder. they should think about the kids. i know it is not the obligation because they did not ask us to come here, but it is hard. amy: the time restriction was imposed by new york city mayor eric adams in october, claiming it was necessary to relieve the city's shelter system that he says has been overwhelmed by the arrival of thousands of asylum seekers. about 70,000 migrants are currently being temporarily housed in hotels, tent camps, and shelters for unhoused people. this is new york city comptroller brad lander. >> we are kicking them out of

their rooms. you can't say we don't have room. they are in rooms. do we need more money? yes. i've checked with dozens of churches and synagogues and mosques who want to provide space. need federal help but we also need better management from city hall. amy: meanwhile, another 500 migrant families were relocated from a massive south brooklyn tent camp to a nearby high school tuesday as heavy rain and winds hit the area. the floyd bennett field camp is set up on an isolated former airplane runway off the bay. the labor department issued a final rule tuesday extending benefits and other protections to millions of hourly and low-wage gig workers. the move reverses a trump-era rule and reclassifies "independent contractors" as "employees," allowing them to access minimum wage, overtime pay, unemployment insurance, and social security benefits.

janitors, home-care workers, construction workers, and truckers are among those to benefit from the change. businesses are expected to launch legal challenges and ride share companies uber and lyft, which have been fighting the new policy, said they will not reclassify drivers, though the labor department could move to force both companies to abide by the new rule. and u.s. police forces killed over 1200 people in 2023, making last year the deadliest for murders at the hands of law enforcement in at least a decade. that's according to data from the group mapping police violence, which showed an average of about three people killed by police daily. this includes the fatal beating of 29-year-old black father tyre nichols in memphis last january. he was assaulted by officers from the elite scorpion union -- unit during a traffic stop. and those are some of the

headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. coming up, we speak with the first biden political appointee to resign over the administration's policies in gaza. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman in new york, joined by juan gonzález in chicago. hi, juan. juan: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: we begin today's show looking at gaza, where the death toll from israel's assault has topped 23,300. on tuesday during a trip to israel, u.s. secretary of state antony blinken said the civilian death toll in gaza is "far too high" but he refused to call for a cease-fire. >> facing an enemy that embeds itself among civilians, who hides in and fires from schools,

hospitals, makes this incredibly challenging. but the daily toll on civilians in gaza, particularly on children, is far too high. we want this war to end as soon as possible. there has been far too much loss of life, far too much suffering. but it is vital israel achieve it's very legitimate objectives of ensuring that october 7 can never happen again. amy: that was tony blinken speaking in tel aviv after meeting with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. blinken met with mahmoud abbas today in ramallah in the occupied west bank. during tuesday's press conference, he went on to say israel must not press palestinians to leave gaza and that the region needs to find a pathway to a palestinian state. >> we continue to discuss how to build a more durable peace and security for israel within the region. as i told the prime minister,

every partner that i met on the strip said they are ready to support a lasting solution that ends the cycle of violence and ensures israel's security. they underscored this can only come through a regional approach that includes a pathway to a palestinian state. amy: blinken's trip to israel and the middle east comes as the biden administration faces mounting criticism for supporting and arming israel's assault on gaza. we begin today's show with tariq habash. last week he became the first biden appointee and just the second administration official overall to publicly resign from the biden administration to protest biden's support for israel's war on gaza. tariq habash, a palestinian american christian who worked at the u.s. department of education. in his resignation letter, he

wrote -- "i cannot stay silent as this administration turns a blind eye to the atrocities committed against innocent palestinian lives, in what leading human rights experts have called a genocidal campaign by the israeli government." tariq habash, welcome to democracy now! thank you for joining us. can you talk about your decision-making? at what point you decided you had to leave the biden administration? how long you've worked for him and what you think of what is happening right now? >> thank you so much. for me, this was an incredibly difficult decision. in a lot of ways, i was working my dream job. i was working for a president who for years touted himself as an individual of empathy and

individual, a leader who cared about our education system, about labor rights, about health care, about the environment. in a lot of ways, i was extremely aligned with the entire domestic policy agenda of president biden. i was able to work on issues i truly cared about. i was part of the administration from the very beginning, coming up on three full years working in this administration. even before that, i volunteered my time as someone who assisted the campaign on the policy development of that agenda with respect to higher education, student debt. it was difficult as someone who both cared deeply about american democracy and cared ably about improving the lives of millions of americans to also feel like

it was untenable to work for and represent an administration, a president that put conditions on my own humanity, that did not believe that palestinian lives were equal to the lives of other people. that is just a really hard thing to deal with. for me, it was not a particular moment in time. it was a culmination of nearly daily dehumanization i palestinian lives in gaza and the west bank. policy and rhetoric that never really shifted over the last three months. i think we even heard that yesterday from the secretary of state. juan: i am wondering, did you try to express your perspective or viewpoints to people in the administration? i am wondering also what the response was of your direct boss , education secretary cardona,

when you decided to resign? >> i used every avenue available to me to be able to express my concerns both about the language the administration -- the white house was using, to express concerns about the policies and how it undermines the president's message on protecting democracy, on how it undermines our stature across the international community with respect to being humanitarians and caring about human life. i spoke with the secretary on numerous occasions about this issue. i spoke with the assistant secretary, the secretary's chief of staff. they are extremely understanding of my personal plight and my personal frustration. they were very supportive of me on a personal level, emotionally understanding, checking on me to

make sure i was doing ok. even in circumstances where the white house had listening sessions for staff in particular. i was there and try to raise concerns, as did many of my colleagues. there was a different tone and the reception from the white house than say the department of education in particular but i think the outcomes, unfortunately, did not change anything. we continued to see doubling down on the current policies that have led us to where we are today, which is the unconditional support of military funding and resources to an extremist israeli regime that continues to both indiscriminately bomb palestinians in gaza and starve millions of people. juan: you have mentioned you participated in president biden's original campaign.

what do you sense is the implication for his reelection campaign, the deep dissatisfaction not only among employees in his administration, but of young progressive and liberal americans across the spectrum? >> i think there are huge implications. i think we are already seeing those implications. the president is gearing up for the 2024 election. we are months away. we are seeing his poll numbers really hitting real lows, particularly in communities that are predominantly minority, predominantly younger. we are seeing a backlash i think in part of these policies and to our response. it feels like it is out of touch with the president's message around protecting democracy from

authoritarianism. i think the president has spoken directly to the american people about how important 2024 is in terms of protecting our democracy. i think that is absolutely true, but it is not in line with the foreign policy approach to the region and to gaza in particular as we are seeing the president and administration provide unconditional support to an authoritarian israeli government. amy: tariq habash, what has been the response of your colleagues to quitting? you talked about the difference between the response of the department of education and the white house. have you gotten word from the white house? >> i have not heard from the white house. i have heard from countless colleagues across the federal government, people i have worked

very closely with, people who i did not have the opportunity to work with, and people we had numerous touch points across the three years i was at the department of education. that response has been incredibly supportive. i could not imagine the level of understanding and support and alignment with so many people. i think we have heard a lot about the level of dissent across the federal government with the administration's current policies. i think we have seen numerous dissent cables from the state department be leaked. we have seen letters from usaid, from dozens of federal agencies, from interns within the white house. it is across the board. but i think there is so much more we don't even realize because there are limitations to how people can share that information and use the channels

available to them. for me at the department of education and other domestic agencies, there are not the same types of private channels that state department has for dissent cables, for foreign service officers, and other employees. i was fortunate because i had leadership that cared about me on a personal level, that wanted to check on me, and told me if there were things i wanted to communicate to the white house, to the highest levels, those messages would be communicated. the vast majority people don't have that level of access and support from their leadership and don't have the structures in place. i think in a lot of ways, the white house doesn't even know the level of dissent within its own ranks. i think that is concerning. amy: on monday, president biden spoke at the mother emanuel ame church in charleston, south carolina, where these white supremacist dylann roof shot

dead eight like parishioners and their pastor in 2015. biden speech was disrupted when a group of activists started chanting cease-fire now. pres. biden: without light, there is no path from this darkness. >> if you really care about the lives lost here, then you should honor the lives lost and call for a ceasefire in palestine! >> ceasefire now! ceasefire now! ceasefire now! ceasefire now! amy: as the protesters called for a cease-fire and were removed from the church, supporters of biden started chanting four more years. president biden then addressed the protest. pres. biden: i understand their passion. and i've been quietly working -- i've been quietly working with the israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of gaza. i've been using all that i can

to do that. amy: i was wondering if you think president biden's line has changed at all? reports are he has called his top aides to the white house, absolutely furious why his poll numbers are so low. when the poll figures show people are so dismayed at what is happening now. i wanted to quote a retired israeli major general who conceded in november, all of our missiles, the ammunition, the precision guided bombs, all the airplanes and bombs, it is all from the u.s. he said the minute they turn off the tap, you can't keep fighting. you have no capability. everyone understands we cannot fight this war without the united states, period. talk about what you think biden understands and what he needs to do right now.

>> i think it is really important to recognize that american voters see this as a domestic policy issue just as much as a foreign policy issue. it is affecting what is going to happen in the upcoming election. i think people are dissatisfied with the response of the administration. i think we are seeing that any church a couple of days ago with protests across the country, city councilmembers and local legislators and policymakers take stances to support immediate cease-fire. that disconnect from the people is really concerning for american democracy but concerning because it feels like digging into the current position means that it is not as valuable to listen to the people and that our policymakers are going to make the decisions that

they are going to make. i think when we see an administration circumvent congress by issuing hundreds of millions of dollars of weapons to a foreign government and circumventing the processes that are in place, ignoring really important laws to protect both americans but also abide by international humanitarian law, i think there are significant implications for what that means for america more broadly. juan: i wanted to ask you, in your work at the education department your focus particularly on higher education. i am wondering, what is your response to what has been happening on so many campuses across the country and the politicians -- or some politicians in congress trying

to support and build up the retaliation and targeting campaign faced by palestinian rights advocates at the university campuses? >> i am so glad you asked that question. i feel like -- i already mentioned a little how americans don't feel like this is just an issue away from home. this is also a domestic policy issue. i think that is extremely clear on college campuses that have for decades been the grounds for public dissent, for protests, for being able to have a free exchange of ideas, and communicate on issues that are really difficult. i think american higher education is meant to be a place to allow free speech in all its forms. i think that is important. i think the department of education recognizes that. but i think there's a lot of work that needs to be done. i think it is clear the

overcorrection that we have seen by institutions of higher education and their response to the weaponization of language in particular on college campuses and by political officials and right-wing extremists. i think at the end of the day, we need to ensure students are safe but we need to provide safe learning environments that do not infringe on the right to be able to have those difficult conversations, to learn about issues that matter in the world right now. this particular conflict is the forefront of those conversations in so many ways. i think would we see students on college campuses show solidarity with the palestinian struggle, when we see students on college campuses condemn the daily atrocities we see that our starving millions of palestinians and decades of oppression and occupation that have led to unequal rights for

palestinians, i think that it is important that we separate that from actual hate speech that is real and dangerous and growing across the country. i think we have seen politicians rely on the weaponization of language in order to minimize students ability to organize and speak about some really difficult issues. and we have seen that really affect the independence and integrity of american higher education. and the risk to academic freedom is real. that is responsibility for the department of education. that was one reason for me why it took so long to really take this position because i did feel any obligation on the issues i worked directly on to be able to help move the ball forward and

provide as much support as possible to students across the country. amy: you were still there at the department of education when the three palestinian students were shot in burlington. one from trinity, one from haverford, and one from brown -- who is paralyzed from the chest down. i was wondering your response and within the department? also, if you feel you face a different future than someone like josh paul, longtime state department official who quit over biden administration policy -- but if you pay something different as a palestinian-american? >> absolutely. just to quickly touch on what happened in vermont, which is

horrific, i think part of the problem is the constant dehumanization of palestinians. what we have seen both in the language the white house has used and in what we have seen in terms of coverage here across the united states in the media making it seem like palestinians, particularly palestinian men, are less deserving of support of humanity, of emotion -- that allows people to feel like attacking them is acceptable. that is a horrifying thing to realize that as a palestinian come as a palestinian man, as a palestinian christian, so may aspects of my own identity are erased on a daily basis. it is truly horrifying that we allow that type of

dehumanization to exist in our country today. for me, it is very personal. yeah. amy: talk about your background, your family's background, your history. >> i am an american. i was born and raised here in the united states. but i dissent from generations of palestinians. i am a palestinian-american. i'm a palestinian christian. my family has been christian for as far back as we know. in 1948, my grandparents and many of my aunts and uncles who were alive at the time, were forcibly displaced from their homes. for those who don't know, it is on the water, essentially, where tel aviv is today. they had to leave their homes, their businesses, their friends.

they saw a huge migration, a forced migration of their peers and massive levels of death. for them, it was about self-preservation, about preserving future generations of their family. they walked for miles to find somewhere safe. i think it was happenstance that someone told them, oh, we think it is safe toward the east, let's walk that direction. as a palestinian living in american, living in the broader diaspora, not being able to return -- there's a level of guilt you have knowing that a decision that was made 75 years ago to walk east instead of south toward gaza changed the entire trajectory of your life,

changed the trajectory of your family's lives. because my family has been here in the states for a long time, but i could have easily been in gaza. my family could have been in gaza. it is extremely emotional. you feel guilty because you are safe and you can't do enough to protect lives that are being taken indiscriminately. amy: what are your plans now? >> i don't know. i think this is such an important issue. i am doing everything i can just to use whatever channels that i have to communicate about how important it is to end the violence immediately, to preserve as many lives as possible. i think we have heard the white house and secretary of state talk repeatedly about minimizing

civilian casualties. we could do better. we can end civilian casualties in gaza and the west bank. i think it is up to us to make that decision to do a little bit of introspection on our own policies and positions and recognize that it has been over three months. the military route has been an epic failure, and the only path to peace as the secretary of state talked about just yesterday is a diplomatic one. and we talked about providing humanitarian aid and increasing the level of aid that is getting to people in gaza who are starving, it is hard to do that if there is continuous bombing of all of the safe regions. there's nowhere safe left. there hasn't been anywhere safe for weeks and weeks. it is important you end the violence or you can provide the

level of support needed if we want to sears the contemplate a future for palestinians. amy: tariq habash, thank you for being with us, former biden administration political appointee who resigned last week from the department of education in response to president biden's support of israel's war on gaza. he was the department's only palestinian-american appointee. he was the first biden appointee to quit. coming up, is israel using starvation as a weapon of war in gaza? we will speak with an israeli human rights group. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: max roach. today would have been his 100th birthday. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. several united nations agencies, including the world food program, say israel's bombardment of gaza could lead to a famine throughout the entire gaza strip within six months unless immediate action is taken. hundreds of thousands of displaced palestinians are now

in rafah and many are waiting in line for hours for small amounts of food as aid agencies struggle to meet the demand. >> i came here to get food. i have been here since 9:00 a.m. just to get a plate of food because the situation is very difficult. we are from gaza city. we came to rafah. the people of rafah welcomed us but the situation is very difficult. there is no money to buy food and there's no flour. we have no money to buy anything at home. there's no gas or anything that would help us cook. we came here to get this plate of food and it is not enough. amy: this comes as hundreds of trucks trying to bring aid to gaza are backed up for miles and have been forced to wait for weeks to enter. on tuesday, the british foreign secretary david cameron urged

israel to lift barriers on delivering humanitarian aid into gaza, citing "real widespread hunger." cameron was cross-examined by the scottish mp. >> two or three minutes ago and reply to the chair, you said "one of the things we would like the israelis to do is switch the water back on." that says you recognize they have the power to turn it on. therefore, isn't turning water off and having the ability to turn it back on but choosing not to not a breach of humanitarian law? >> it is something they ought to do. >> any human being would say. i'm asking you in your position as foreign secretary, humanitarian law, if israel has the power to turn the water back on that they turned off,

shirley, that is a breach of international humanitarian law. >> i'm not a lawyer. my view is they ought to switch back on. the gaza conflict is effectively over in the north and getting more water and power into northern gaza would be a very good thing to do. you don't have to be a lawyer to make that judgment, just have to be human being. amy: last month the u.n. security council passed a resolution to immediately increase aid deliveries in gaza, and human rights watch accused israel of using starvation as a method of warfare, which violates international humanitarian law. for more, we are joined by in tel aviv by sarit michaeli, international advocacy lead for the israeli human rights group b'tselem, which has just published a new report "israel is starving gaza." b'tselem says starvation is "not a byproduct of war but a direct result of israel's declared policy." welcome to democracy now! layout exactly what you found and what you feel can be done

about it. >> in basic terms, almost everyone in gaza is hungry almost all of the time. 2.3 million people are surviving mostly on sometimes one ila day, people skipping meals to give to children, people constantly looking for the next source of food for them and their families and children. all of this is happening in a place that pretty much is an hours drive from here. supplying humanitarian assistance and food and all the necessities like water and other things that people rely on should not be a difficult problem. we're not talking about remote region internationally. we are talking about an area that is accessible, where the things that impede this provision of food for people who are starving is a declared

policy by israel. the fact israel is not allowing enough trucks in, the fact israel is not providing the ability -- logistical infrastructure to drive this food into gaza into places where it is possible to do. and any other decisions taken by the israeli government that are making the amount of assistance that is coming into gaza simply a fraction of what the population needs. you quoted international experts on this issue. within a month, they expect honest all of the residents of the gaza strip to be what is stage three of this scale of horror of hunger. this is simply unacceptable when it is clearly preventable. the things said and the british parliament by cameron are

clearly a clarification. this is a result of israeli policy and actions, not a coincidence or unfortunate byproduct of war. juan: i wanted to ask you, how is israel controlling the food supply, especially in rafah -- rafah leads into egypt. how does it prevent trucks from getting in? >> let's look the past situation. gaza is on the brink of collapse even before this war begin with the horrific october 7 attack by hamas against israelis. this has been a situation of food insecurity since the beginning of the israeli blockade on gaza almost 17 years ago. the israeli decision to cut off electricity and water supply that israel failed gaza to not

allow the movement of the international humanitarian provision of supplies -- those decisions made it almost impossible from the start, for even bakeries to operate and provide for the people. and now -- so the collapse was very quick. based on a long period of deprivation. but now the issue is, there needs to be hundreds of trucks entering gaza every day and just a fraction of that is entering. this is happening because the rafah crossing is not equipped. goods should be entering through other border crossings not with egypt. israel is prohibiting the provisions of food purchased on the israeli market so the aid agencies have to bring it from egypt, which is even more

difficult. there many restrictions on the ability to distribute it once it gets into the gaza strip. then we see these awful images of desperate people charging these provision convoys coming in and taking what they can because they are so desperate. the food is not reaching seven areas of gaza. so you have a situation where in some areas of gaza things are only just bad where is in others things are absolutely atrocious. this is not a very large area. certainly, and i think it is recognized now by the international community, the israeli government is responsible for this. this should lead to an immediate international action, not simply conversations with israeli policymakers but clear clarifications that israel is violating his legal obligations -- this is a war crime and also this is simply an immoral way to

treat civilian population. amy: after a visit to the rafah crossing between egypt and gaza, u.s. democratic senators jeff merkley and chris van hollen blasted the israeli process process for screening the aid. senator van hollen spoke to cbs "face the nation." >> many items that should be allowed to go into gaza -- water filtration systems, other systems like that -- work in a warehouse of rejected items that we visited. while we were there, we saw a truck turned away that had a big box from unicef, which is the u.n. organization that helps children. it was a unit to help with water desalinization. it was rejected. when one item on a truck is rejected, the entire truck is

rejected. the other big issue is within gaza. the so-called to confliction process which is just a fancy name for those who are providing human attorney assistance to have the confidence they can deliver it without being killed. amy: if you can talk more about this? the senator van hollen is the one who has called for the release of more information about the israeli sniper who murdered shirin abu akleh in the occupied west bank. >> absolutely. we certainly appreciate the leadership senator van hollen and senator merkley are showing on this. it is crucial the u.s. lawmakers, both from the more progressive part of the democratic party but also from the mainstream security-oriented

established part of the democratic party, are engaging with president biden to demand action on this issue. simply an unconscionable situation that is unfolding in front of us. i would like to refer to the second part of senator van hollen's discussion of the dangers inside gaza. absolutely, there's been another update by the u.n. office of coordination for humanitarian assistance discussing an additional rejection by the israeli authorities of another attempt to transfer medical goods into hospitals in the northern gaza strip. this was the day before yesterday. we are seeing there are so many difficulties in trying to bring the aid, deliver the aid with safety in this area that is bombed stuff it brings us to the central issue which is there needs to be a cease-fire in the

gaza strip. there needs to be a halt to bombardments and airstrikes bring and necessities that have to be provided. this is one continuation -- they're making this far to dangerous and possible currently. this is one other reason why we need this to stop. b'tselem has called for a cease-fire. of course the most important reason for this stop is to stop the killing of civilians, of women and children and human beings in the gaza strip in a way that absolutely is disproportionate to what is facing israel right now. and the policies of, basically, airstrikes bombing residential homes. all of this -- and the huge

death toll, 23,000 gazans and counting as a result. it can only be described as a revenge attack after the horrific death toll the israelis have suffered. we simply cannot accept, you know, it is certainly not moral or legal that we inflict such a degree of suffering on gazans. we israelis. regardless of how much we have suffered and how horrific we have been affected by this, they're civilly no justification for the continuation of the israeli attack on gaza. it has to stop. there has to be a cease-fire. juan: you are talking to us from tel aviv. how aware are israelis of the catastrophic situation so close to where most of them live? is there any significant portion

of the population that cares? >> well, unfortunately, the situation is very, very depressing and painful when we look at the responses of many israelis, possibly even the majority of israelis. i think a majority of israelis support what we're doing there. there's very little protest or rejection of the message israel is employing in its attack against the civilian population of gaza. the israeli media does not broadcast much information about the suffering of gazans, the devastation -- the utter devastation, infrastructure, loss of homes and human beings being killed on a daily basis, on an hourly basis. but one of the saddest aspects of this is even when people are aware of this, there so many

politicians and influencers and people who simply are rejecting any need to respect humanity of people in gaza. unfortunately, some of the people who are aware of the huge price, the horrific tolls gazans are paying, or simply ok with that. this is one of the most depressing aspects of what is going on now in terms of total dehumanization of gazans among many people in israel. i should mention there are israelis -- they are calling to recognize the humidity of gazans , but we are in the minority. juan: we have less them and it could have you been monitoring the violence in the west bank that has gotten far less attention. could you talk about what you

have chronicled? >> absolutely. since october 7, there has been a massive increase in the violence by israeli soldiers and also security forces and israeli settlers against the palestinians in the west bank. a really large number of palestinians killed by soldiers and israeli settlers that has led to takeovers of land by settlers to the forcible transfer of palestinians in very large parts of the west bank, led to the total destruction of the olive harvest, for example according to campaign to damage the economy. all of these things are done with little international recognition.

as we call when it comes to the situation in the gaza strip, there has to be international action to hold the -- hold israeli policymakers accountable for decisions that have led to these horrific results. amy: sarit michaeli, we have to leave it there. than