01/19/24 01/19/24 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> there was nowhere to hide so they huddled together. they died out on top of each other. two teachers tried to shield their kids and safeguard them. we have to learn from what happened in uvalde, texas. i hope is this world tells the

entire report that we need to have some real change. amy: failure. that is with the justice department called the police response to the 2022 uvalde school massacre that left 19 children and two teachers dead. we'll go to texas to speak with state senator roland gutierrez about the report and about how texas governor abbott is defying a biden administration cease-and-desist order to dismantle its barrier on the mexican border. after a mother and her two children died in the rio grande. then just out of prison for refusing his mandatory military service in israel and headed back to prison, we will speak with the first israeli conscientious objector since the gaza assault began over three months ago. >> there is a whole system of pulling people into the army and

making them work for the occupation and for oppressing palestinians. amy: and as palestinian casualties in gaza so, nearly 25,000 people overall killed, we will speak with an emergency medical doctor just returned from gaza about the catastrophic situation on the ground. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. mexico and chile have requested the international criminal court investigate israel for committing war crimes against civilians in gaza as outrage grows over israel's 15-week assault of the besieged territory, which has killed nearly 25,000 palestinians. over 10,000 of them, children.

on thursday, the european union parliament passed a resolution calling for a gaza ceasefire on the condition that all hostages be released and hamas be dismantled. this comes as gaza enters its eighth day under a near complete communications blackout, the longest blackout to date. israel is continuing to attack areas acacss the gaza strip. this is a palestinian mother in khan younis after learning her son had been killed in an israeli strike. >> i am hurting like a burning blaze. i told my husband, let's pray for abdulla. you will come back. but it was my last goodbye. may god have mercy on his soul. they took my heart from me. i was waiting for my son but he did not come back. i had not slept for three nights praying for him. they told me he was a european hospital and i was praying it would not be true. amy: in news from israel, police

have arrested seven people after they blocked a major highway in tel aviv during a protest calling for prime minister benjamin netanyahu to reach an agreement that would secure the release of the remaining 132 hostages held in gaza. meanwhile, netanyahu has publicly rejected calls by the biden administration for the future establishment of a palestinian state. he called for israel to be in control of the region from the jordan river to the mediterranean sea. >> therefore i clarify that in any arrangement in the foreseeable future with an accord war without an accord, the state of israel must have secretive control over the entire territory west of the jordan river. that is a necessary condition. amy: many commentators noted netanyahu was essentially calling for israel to control the land from the river to the

sea -- a phrase many palestinian supporters have been denounced for using even when calling for the formation of a single state where everyone has equal rights. the united states has bombed yemen for the fifth time over the past week. on thursday, president biden acknowledged the u.s. strikes , which were conducted without congressional authorization, have failed to stop houthi forces from yemen from attacking ships in the red sea and gulf of aden. pres. biden: -- amy: hours after the latest u.s. airstrike, houthi forces attacked a u.s.-owned chemical tanker in the gulf of aden. the houthis have vowed to keep targeting ships until israel stops attacking gaza. the u.s. house and senate passed a short-term spending bill thursday to avert a partial government shutdown ahead of today's midnight deadline. the measure extends funding for

some federal agencies and programs, as well as the pentagon, through early march. at the 11th hour, the far-right freedom caucus unsuccessfully attempted to add border crackdown measures to the house bill. the hardline lawmakers vowed to retaliate against house speaker mike johnson by thwarting upcoming legislative action. the justice department pointed to a series of "cascading failures" in the response to the 2022 school massacre in uvalde, texas, which killed 19 children and two teachers. hundreds of law enforcement officers stood by. 377, to be exact. as the massacre unfolded for 77 minutes. as he revealed the findings of his agency's investigation, attorney general merrick garland said "lives would have been saved" had officials followed standard protocol. families of the victims spoke after the release of the 600-page report. this is kimberly mata-rubio who lost her 10-year-old daughter lexi.

>> i hope the failures end today and the local officials do what wasn't done that day, do right by the victims and survivors of rob elevation -- robb elementary . that our state and federal government annexed sensible gun laws because robb elementary -- amy: along with other grieving family members, kimberly mata-rubio founded the gun control advocacy group lives robbed. the school where everyone was killed was robb elementary school. we'll have more on uvalde after headlines. amid multiple legal woes, donald trump posted an all-caps, 2:00 -- message to his truth social platform, claiming "a president of the united states must have

full immunity." even for events that "cross the line." the post reignited fear of an authoritarian crackdown on democracy if trump is re-elected. the ex-president ended his rant by writing, "god bless the supreme court!" trump appointed three of the sitting justices on the nine rightwing-majority court, which is likely to rule on trump's eligibility to appear on the 2024 ballot as well as whether he can be shielded from prosecution. ruth ben-ghiat, nyu professor and an expert on authoritarianism, said -- "trump is telling americans very clearly that he will be jailing and killing americans. anyone who votes for him is complicit with these future crimes." in haiti, a neighborhood in the capital port-au-prince has been under siege for at least four days in an ongoing attack by gang members. the sound of automatic weapons echoed through the streets of

solino while many community members remained trapped inside their homes behind flaming barricades. >> i am on the street because of armed gangs. they took my house. i was sheltering in another never hood but they invaded it, too. i am in the street now. i don't know where to go. amy: violence in haiti has been escalating for months under interim prime minister ariel henry, who is backed by the united states, forcing thousands to flee. henry became de facto ruler following the assassination of haitian president jovenel moïse in 2021. in iran, authorities have sentenced nobel peace prize laureate narges mohammadi to an additional 15 months in prison, accusing the human rights leader of spreading propaganda while behind bars. her family says this is mohammadi's fifth criminal conviction since 2021.

she has been in and out of prison for the last two decades over her activism. in california, unionized staff of "the los angeles times" are holding a one-day multi-city walkout today to protest massive planned job cuts. it's the first ever newsroom work stoppage in the history of "the l.a. times." over 100 journalists, or about 20% of the newsroom, are reportedly at risk of losing their jobs. this comes less than a year after the paper cut 74 newsroom jobs. "the l.a. times" is owned by billionaire patrick soon-shiong. a mississippi poultry plant faces over $200,000 in fines for the death of a teenage worker who was killed last year after being pulled into a chicken deboning machine. the department of labor cited 17 violations against the mar-jac poultry plant. the death of the 16-year-old was the second fatality recorded at the factory in just over two years. the teen was from guatemala.

at least 40 people have died across nine states over the past week amid widespread winter storms and record wind chills. tennessee has seen the highest death toll, with 14 recorded fatalities. more snow and freezing temperatures are expected today from the midwest to the east coast. and the senate held its first ever hearing on long covid amid a winter surge in infections. patients and health experts appealed for more funding and research into the condition as well as proper insurance coverage while detailing its debilitating effects, which can include extreme fatigue, chronic pain, and what is often described as brain fog. this is long covid researcher dr. ziyad al-aly. >> long covid affects at least 20 million americans. it affects people across the lifespan. we have kids, people 100 years old with long covid.

the burden of long covid, the burden of disease and disability from long covid when you measure it is on par with the burden of cancer and heart disease. amy: 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 in texas. it was may 24, 2022, when an 18-year-old gunman armed with an ar-15 rifle shot dead 19 fourth-graders and two teachers at robb elementary in uvalde, texas. as nearly 400 law enforcement officers who descended on the school took 77 minutes to confront and kill him. now the justice department has issued a scathing 600 page review of the massacre. it details the series of

"cascading failures" starting with a "haphazard" initial response in which officers failed to quickly establish a command post and did not immediately treat the attack as an active shooter situation. attorney general merrick garland released the report thursday at a news conference in uvalde. >> to chaos and confusion while the shooter remained a threat also defined the aftermath of the shooting. for example, surviving victims, some with bullet wounds and other injuries, were put on buses without being brought to the attention of medics. some families were told their family members had survived when they had not. and victims families and community members struggled to receive timely and accurate information about what had occurred at robb elementary. amy: parents of the robb elementary school mass shooting victims gathered thursday to

respond to the doj's report. this is kimberly rubio, the mother of lexi, one of the 19 children killed. >> i hope the failures end today and the local officials do what wasn't done that day, do right by the victims and survivors of robb elementary -- terminations, criminal prosecutions. our state and federal government and ask sensible gun laws because robb elementary began the day in 18-year-old was allowed to purchase an ar-15. amy: also at thursday's press conference in uvalde was attorney josh koskoff, who represents the robb elementary victims' families. >> how did this 18-year-old kid even know enough to know how to put himself in this way?

what happened? what are the means by which gun companies are marketing these weapons to our children? how are they reaching them? where is the role of marketing and the gun companies in this report? there is no fault for investigation whatsoever. amy: just three weeks into this year, there have already been at least two school shootings in the united states. for more, we are joined by democratic texas state senator roland gutierrez, whose district includes uvalde. he is running for u.s. senate for the seat currently held by republican senator ted cruz. welcome back to democracy now! we spoke to you repeatedly after the massacre. can you respond to the report? and be very specific about what happened inside and the fact, what was it, 377 law enforcement , police, troopers, etc., stood

by for 77 minutes as the children inside, desperately called police? the children acting like adults and the adults like children? >> first off, thank you for having me. i think it is important people like yourself, people in the media continue to tell this story in a real way and shed light and continue to shed light on this. what happened on may 24 was the worst law enforcement response to a school shooting in our nations history. let's be very clear. the police on that day failed. not just the district police chief, not just the local sheriff, not just the acting chief of police but the department of public safety

failed. 96 officers of greg abbott's operation lone star were on the scene. as they show up to all scenes in rural texas. and not one of those officers, including his high-level command officers, took control of the scene. not one of them said, "we need to do something to stop this madness. we need to coordinate a command center." that never happened. not before, during, or after this event. as the attorney general suggested yesterday, cascading failure, it was everything that could have happened and everything that could have gone wrong happened. from radios that did not work to just complete chaos and complete lack of leadership and management. but the biggest thing that

occurred was something i had to see for myself as i viewed over 400 hours of bodycam footage. i needed to see why in the world this failure occurred. amid that carnage and the blood and the gore and the poor children that had passed on, the same refrain from cops over and over and over, "he's got an ar-15. there is an ar-15. he's got an assault rifle." not one cop, not one share of, not one trooper. over and over and over he would hear that several refrain. culminating in one of the last officers to suggest that he said, i don't want to die today. said "i don't want to get clapped out today." the children certainly were more

brave than the police. even though i've seen all of this and even though all of this for me is now 20 months in the making, even yesterday i learned something new that i had not seen on my bodycam footage. the fact that one officer yelled into that room, "if there's anybody in there, let us know." a child cried out said "i'm in here." the gunman went back into that room, four shots were fired, and that child was killed. what occurred on that day is something we should all continue to talk about because these incidences don't happen in a vacuum. they don't happen in 12 minutes as is the national average. most to get resolved in those two minutes. that is not what happened here in uvalde on that day.

what happened was extreme failure. what happened was cowardice. what happened was cops new this guy had a gun that they were afraid of and that is why policymakers in the state of texas and in the united states need to do something about this particular gun because the damage it makes and the ease by which it kills is astounding and profound. we must stop it. we need an assault weapons ban in this country once and for all. amy: state senator gutierrez, you described the children -- media does not show dead children with their faces blown off. i really hate to say this. but unless we are very direct and graphic about what an ar-15 does, people can continue to

say, one weapon or another, whatever it is the person, not the weapon. tell us what an ar-15 does. >> it is quite different, amy. in the first barrage as the gunman enters in, -- and i think the public has seen this image. this video footage of him going into the classroom and then you don't see him anymore but you hear close to over 100 rounds go off in a span of a minute plus. he is going into the first room, he kills every child in the first room. no survivors. leaves only the teacher who he thinks is dead. that teacher was alive and has survived this event. goes into the adjacent room and just sprays that room. those kids died like we trained

them to die. that sounds horrible. but these kids have grown up with a different kind of anxiety and you and i did when we were growing up. for me we had fire drills at school. there were no active shooter drills. for some people that are older, they may remember the old nuclear bomb drill. get under your desk. these children grow up with a very specific set of instructions that they practice month after month after month. shut the lights off. close the blinds. go in the closet if there is one. if there isn't, huddled together as best you can. in that second classroom, there were two piles of kids. the teacher draped over each one trying to shield them from this madness. one teacher dead, one barely living. most of the kids in the classroom, dead.

as they go into the classroom and they take down the gunman, you immediately see the faulty trauma care. i'm not a doctor and i don't know about how you treat people, but you see police and law enforcement officials dragging dead bodies out by their lives. a little girl comes out. i remember my general counsel telling me, you need to hold on when you see this image. because she is going to be dragged out and she is not going to have a face. this little girl was dragged out by this one texas trooper. indeed, her face was gone. i cannot think of a word to explain what that looks like. other than some kind of dysmorphia. it is just -- it doesn't look

like a face anymore. it is just blood and bone and deep red blood and carnage like you cannot believe. the worst movie you've ever seen in your life -- horror movie, multiplied by a thousand. i whole classroom full of blood and smoke. this little girl just completely gone. there is a surviving young boy. i won't mention his name. his parents are friends of mine. that little boy talks about his girlfriend and told his story to his parents and to his therapist. little nine-year-old girl sitting in the desk next to him. all he could remember -- this boy was shot as well but he survived. all he can remember is lying on the ground looking at his friend. all he could remember is teeth all over the floor. that little girl -- that little

boy will live with that memory for the rest of his life. just like the other survivors who have recounted having to cover themselves in blood to let the shooter know she was dead. the blood of her best friend. we are just lost on this issue. amy: state senator, have introduced 21 state senate bills seeking changes in gun laws, including reversal background checks and red flag warnings. none past last year in texas. and yet you have when lapierre on trial for corruption, steps down as head of the nra. he famously said the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun

is a good guy with the gun. the nra at its weakest point ever, how is it possible that an assault weapons band isn't something that isn't embraced fully by democrats, not to mention many republicans? >> the fact is you have too many cowardly politicians and certainly the republicans on the others out of the i/o are all cowards on this issue. and democrats as well. there are a few out there that refuse to say this and they need to say this, we need an assault weapons ban in this country. i have guns. a lot of them. i don't need an ar-15. it is the most powerful gun i have ever fired. it fires three times this deed of a nine millimeter. it is complete death and destruction. i saw it all. i say cowardly for this reason. sitting in the lieutenant

governor's office, very wrong and early for me, maybe as soon as the session started a said, dan, have to be able to do something on this issue. just raise the age limit. after an hour and him telling me there's nothing they could do, i recounted a story to have about this little girl -- the same story i just told you. about her being dragged out with no face to speak of and the horror of it all. back then it was very raw. quite honestly, i could not keep it together. at the end of the meeting is head, roland, there's a reason we don't look at the videos. this is the second most powerful man in texas. i promise you this, amy, ted cruz and others like him have not seen the videos, the death, the destruction, and the finality of a little child's life full of hope waiting simply for school to come to an end,

just for the summer to begin. and in all that, in an instant, their life is over. and all of those hopes are gone. these politicians are cowards on this issue. they are cowards because they have not looked at what they need to see, videos and the footage i have seen and the footage all over this country because this story repeats itself week after week after week. amy: we only have a few minutes, but i want to ask about another topic, that show data on the border. this would texas defied a biden administration cease-and-desist order to dismantle its border barrier near the city of eagle pass after it said troopers to take over a 2.5 mile stretch and install fencing, gates, and razor wire. this coming after a mother and her two children drowned in the rio grande last friday near

eagle pass when border patrol agents were denied access to the area by state officials acting under orders from republican texas governor greg abbott. this is abbott speaking to right-wing radio host dana loesch about how texas is conducting border enforcement. >> we are deploying every strategy we possibly can. the only thing we are not doing is we are not shooting people who come across the border because, of course, the biden administration -- amy: can you respond to what happened? we're talking about the 19 kids who died in uvalde. this is a mom and her eight-year-old and 10-year-old who drowned in the river, the rio grande river. >> you are absolutely right. for this governor in texas to understand, it would be murder because it is murder. what they have done and what happened last week is also a

crime. it is called failure to stop and render aid at a minimum, possibly negligent homicide at a maximum. but they are not the only ones. day after day after day people are drowning because of the obstacles this man put in the river. he put 1000 yards of buoy in the river. the fact is, -- thousand feet, sorry. that was put in the shallow part of this area that this governor has set up as a little theater, as -- by the way, it is the only city with this kind of razor wire, with these barriers. they put them in the shallow part of the river, making margaret's -- grants go into the deeper water. hundreds have drowned. what this man has done come the will to they created is unbelievable. it is a theatrical show that is disgusting and leading to the deaths of people that are simply looking for a dream, simply looking for opportunity because

they are hungry. they are hungry. we need comprehensive immigration reform. no obstacle, no barrier is going to fix this problem. we need comprehensive immigration reform once and for all in this country. that is the job that failed congress will not act. amy: i want to thank you for being with us. i also do say that interview with greg abbott done by the radio tv host dana is a former spokesperson for the nra. democratic texas state senator roland gutierrez represents texas's 19th district in the state legislature, which includes uvalde. he recently announced he will run against republican senator ted cruz. next up, just out of prison for refusing his mandatory military service in israel, we speak with the first israeli conscientious objector since they gaza assault began over three months ago. stay with us.

♪ [music break] amy: "prohibido llorar" by vivir

quintana. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. israel is continuing its attacks across the gaza strip, from the north to the south, as the number of palestinian casualties continues to soar. over the last 24 hours, at least 142 palestinians were killed in gaza according to the health ministry. nearly 25,000 palestinians have been killed over the past three months, 10,000 of them children. thousands of others missing under the rubble and presumed dead, making israel's assault one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history. meanwhile, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has again rejected calls to scale back israel's assault on gaza or take steps towards the establishment of a palestinian state. in a nationally broadcast news

conference, netanyahu vowed to press ahead with the offensive until what he called a "decisive victory over hamas." as netanyahu vows to continue israel's assault on gaza, we turn now to the first israeli to refuse mandatory military service since israel's offensive began over three months ago. tal mitnick is an 18-year-old conscientious objector in israel. last month, he announced he would refuse military service saying, "i refuse to take part in a war of revenge." he was sentenced to 30 days in a military prison and was just released yesterday morning. tal mitnick joins us now from a studio in tel aviv. welcome to democracy now! can you talk about why you are refusing? >> thank you for having me on. i am refusing because, like i said, i refuse to take part in this revenge war. i am refusing because i want to

make a statement about how we need to conduct ourselves in this land. i feel like there's too much violence here, too much revenge and talked about this site or that side. we need to talk about how we need to go forward in the future of coexistence were both israel is and palestinians can live together and live with to cure the and peace. amy: so talk about what this means. how did you make this known. talk about where you served time in prison and is this just a brief period of days before you're sent back to prison? >> yes. i got sentenced for 30 days for my first sentencing and i got another draft order for monday morning, which means i have to get drafted on monday morning where i will go and refuse service once again and probably get sentenced again.

this will happen over and over until someone gives up. until the army gives me an exemption. amy: talk about the response of your friends, your family stop i was also wondering how you're an israeli but you have an american accent. are you american as well? cooks my parents immigrated from the u.s. and we spoke english at home. i am israeli and american, yes. the friends and family response -- yes? amy: go ahead. >> five friends and family response was, thankfully, mostly very understanding. people that know me and people that talk to me know that i come from a good place of nonviolence and coexistence. i feel like the people that got

to talk to me also inside military prison, a lot of them -- support killing all arabs. when they got to know me before they knew my political opinions, they understood. they understood there people that up support this. sorry, i could hear myself twice. amy: if you can possibly blank that out because we are not sure how to fix that right now. just continue to talk because we don't hear you twice but we do hear you very clearly. can you talk about your time in prison and where are you being held? >> i am being held in a military prison where other soldiers that have committed crimes inside the military and got sentenced to military prison are also being held.

it is not a fun experience but it is also not the worst experience imaginable. it is not like the experience that palestinian prisoners are being held under in the west bank or inside israel. it is very strict timing, very strict about what you are allowed to do and when. but this is something i am willing to do to make an impact. amy: i am wondering if you feel the climate is changing among israelis? also, what israelis see that what is happening in gaza? we just reported -- we're talking about close to 25,000 palestinians killed over 10,000 children, over 7000 women. many believed to be dead in the rubble. we don't even know that count. if you watch something like al jazeera or other media since they are only palestinian

journalists on the ground, you see endless pictures of carnage, babies being pulled out of the rubble dead or alive. what do you see on israeli tv? we're talking about people just 15 minutes away from gaza. >> actually inside prison, the only source of news we got was one newspaper. every day on the newspaper, there would be pictures of the soldiers that died. i remember feeling -- i feel very sad for the soldiers and the families that have to take this great burden of losing someone close to them, but i know while saying soldiers dying, i know this means there are much more palestinian civilians dying -- which we don't see in the newspaper.

amy: who else are you serving time with in that prison? who else is there? >> sadly, a lot of the other people there are deserters, which mean they serve time in the military and then at some point for some reason they went back home and did not come back. most of these people desert because of socioeconomic reasons. if it is having to take care of their siblings or go work for their family. when they come back and turn themselves in, we are seeing a very heavy sentencing of those deserters as a part of the fascist persecution -- prosecution and fog of war. those who would to work to feed their families are being sentenced to half a year military prison. amy: can you talk about the

overall antiwar movement, if there is one in israel? there are massive protests come up to a million people in the streets -- which is massive for israel -- around the netanyahu wanting to gut the power of the judiciary. of course he is under charges himself and that would help him remain out of prison, but at that point, many reservists said they would not serve in the military. everything changed after october seven hamas attack on southern israel. if you can talk about why that did not change you and how large is the antiwar movement and do you feel it is growing? i feel like after the horrendous attack of october 7 against israeli civilians, there is a very important conception that was broken in israeli society.

the conception we can live with the siege and with the occupation and not feel it. now when that conception is broken, we have a vacuum. there are two ideas trying to pull people. one idea the right is offering, which is we can live with occupation, can live with siege, this means we need to wipe all of them out. the other idea, the moderate one, the one that makes sense is that we can't live with occupation, we can't live with siege, we need to step forward for peace. inside military prison, i got asked a lot, we should just stop the war he put our hands up and not do anything? i said, no, we need to keep fighting for a just future. we need to stop the physical fighting between us and we need to very aggressively push for a better future. amy: i am wondering your response to the prime minister netanyahu once again saying from

the river to the sea? when palestinian advocates and their allies talk about from the river to the sea, their response of the israeli government has been, that means they are for the genocide of jews because they don't want jews to be there, the government says. now you have netanyahu saying, not that this hasn't been said before by likud, but from the river to the sea israel must control. your response? and if you can talk about the word "occupation? in the u.s. media, there is rarely that word used, that israel occupies in gaza. >> the term from the river to the sea is very controversial inside of israel. i feel like some people that use it, there are people that you said that mean the genocide of jews inside israel, but just the

term itself i feel like does not mean a genocide of jews, but freedom of all palestinians from the river to the sea. when benjamin netanyahu uses this term, it does not mean freedom for all from river to the sea, means oppression palestinians and it needs jewish supremacy from the jordan river to the mediterranean sea. amy: i am wondering your response to jews around the world, particularly in the united states by jewish voice for peace, these massive protests that have been held from grand central station to shutting down the bridges and the tunnels from new york to highways in california saying, we want a cease-fire now. how do you respond to that? and your final message to other 18-year-old israelis? >> these protests are amazing.

these organizations like jewish voices for peace and if not now do incredible work. i support the continuation of these protests all around the world. a message to other people my age, other kids? it is important to know we have a voice. i used to thank -- think that talking to people is all we could do, but we can change and people want to hear what we have to say because we are the future. yeah, we are the future and we can change. amy: finally, might you spend months, more than a year in jail if you keep saying no to military service since netanyahu says this will go on for more than a year? >> because there is no policy

set for jailing a conscientious objector, i don't really know how much time i will spend in prison but it could be months. amy: tal mitnick, 18-year-old israeli activist has refused mandatory military service in the israeli army. the conscientious objector in first israel since the assault on gaza began over 100 days ago. he is just sentenced to 30 days in prison, was released a few days ago, then will be called up again and says he will refuse again. coming up next, we talked a doctor who just came out of gaza. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: the palestinian singer recorded this more than half a

century ago. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. israeli forces are pushing further into southern gaza with airstrikes and ground troops attacking areas that israel had previously told palestinians to flee to. as safe zones. over the past few days, israel has bombed areas close to nasser hospital, the largest remaining semi-functioning health facility in gaza, located in the southern city of khan younis. gaza only has 16 partially functioning health facilities remaining. before israel's assault, gaza had hospitals. 36the hospitals that are still working our operating far beyond their capacity and have been turned into makeshift refugee camps to house the displaced, with health officials describing the situation as catastrophic. the health ministry estimates that over 60,000 people have

been wounded, with hundreds more casualties every day. the casualty count at this point is nearing 25,000, more than 10,000 of them are children. for more, we are joined by dr. james smith, an emergency medical doctor who just returned from gaza earlier this month where he worked alongside palestinian healthcare workers to treat patients at al aqsa hospital located in deir al-balah in the middle of the gaza strip. dr. james was in gaza with the organization medical aid for palestinians. he is joining us now from london. welcome to democracy now! describe what you saw, what you confronted, the work you're doing, what is happening at al aqsa hospital. >> as you say, i was working with a team -- there were 10 of us. myself, i was with medical aid

for palestinians. we were companied by college from international rescue committee. very importantly, it is important to reiterate that we were working with our palestinian colleagues. doctors, nurses, other health care professionals at al aqsa hospital. al aqsa is a hospital based in the middle area of gaza, so south of gaza city and north of khan younis. i was working in the emergency room. we would position ourselves in the er every morning and at that point weight to see what the day would bring. every single day without exception, there were multiple mass casualty at the hospital. so that a several patients presenting at a time with traumatic injuries of varying severity. those patients would require

stabilization and then often transfer to the operating -- for surgical intervention. some would require palliative care if we were able to provide some form of palliative care. in addition to many trauma patients -- by many, i mean several hundred over the time we were working at al aqsa -- we were also treating patients presenting with complex medical problems. so people that had suffered heart attacks, for example, suffered from strokes, people with hypertension or diabetes whose management had been negatively impacted. usually through a lack of access to their usual medications or because they had not been able to see their usual doctor for several months. and furthermore, we were also seeing an even greater number of

people with effectively primary health care level problems. the entirety of the primary health care or community care system in gaza has completely collapsed. the entire health care system as the ministry of health has announced several months ago has completely collapsed. but that meant anyone presenting with so-called minor complaints -- coughs, colds, diarrhea -- they were also presenting to the emergency rooms to be seen by the doctors and nurses air. --there. amy: can you talk about treating children? >> as you mentioned, a significant proportion of the people that have been killed since the start of this escalation are children. we certainly saw every mass-casualty incident in the emergency room. there were several children also present.

i remember vividly some of the most traumatic injuries inflicted upon people were inflicted upon children. they would include open chest wounds, open abdominal wounds, traumatic amputations, severe full thickness burns to a substantial portion of the body area. some of the most horrific traumatic injuries that i have ever seen. amy: we are showing images for our tv audience of al aqsa hospital and of the children and the adults who have been wounded there. it is important to point out if you're talking about a hospital in normal times that has repeatedly been attacked, would severely compromise its functioning, but we're talking about this constant bombardment that where you have people coming in who have been severely

wounded. you have people taking refuge there? is it both like a refugee camp and a morgue? >> so there were several thousand people that had sought supposed sanctuary within the hospital compound itself. we have seen this in several other hospitals across the gaza strip. there were reports for example of thousands of people sheltering in the al-shifa compound before that was surrounded and raided by the israeli occupation forces. the same was at al aqsa. people were staying in makeshift tents in and around the hospital buildings. just up the main street, adjacent to the hospital, sort of another idp camp -- internally displaced persons cap

had formed organically on open land. as the israeli ground forces moved closer to the hospital and as the bombardment, the artillery and air compartment intensified, many of -- many thousands of those displaced people have displaced further south towards rafah. that also includes patients who were in the hospital at the time that we were working. many have also fled, along with many of the staff as well. amy: i want to go to a clip. it is really important to play these clips. right now gaza has experienced the longest communications blackout i've this israeli attack. in the last three months, something like seven days. so it is really hard to get information in i. this intense israeli bombardment

in the vicinity of nasser hospital, largest remaining semi-functioning health facility and tanks and armored vehicles are on the main road leading to the area. on wednesday, democracy now! reached dr. ahmed moghrabi who works in nasser hospital. he described the situation on the ground and the difficulty in getting out any messages from --. this is what he had to say. >> thank you for asking about us. thank you for letting me speak out. i managed to get a very weak signal. i cannot upload any audio or videos. 90% of people who are already evacuated from the hospital, 90 persons have evacuated. [indiscernible]

somebody pushed her and she fell on her head. i'm scared about this little girl. she is not well. i wanted to evacuate. the situation is catastrophic. i am tired. i'm very tired. amy: that image was the doctor holding his own wounded daughter. i wondering, dr. james, if you could talk about the significance, the medical significance of complete -- almost complete telecommunications blackout in terms of ambulances being reached, people being able to communicate to get help? >> absolutely. this is a catastrophic development. as you mentioned, this is the seventh time the israelis have suspended access to telecommunications across all

must entirety of the gaza strip. this is now day six or seven of complete telecommunications blackout. it makes it almost impossible to do anything. so people -- in the first instance, people cannot reach their family, loved ones. they can't communicate with colleagues. they can't reassure family they are ok or indeed relatives and friends can't inform family members and so on when somebody has been killed or injured. there have been occasions where the emergency number has not been in use. so as you say, it has been difficult to call ambulances to places where there has been an air or artillery strike. it makes it very difficult for health and humanitarian workers to do their essential work. i can't corn it with each other.

amy: what message you have the world just having come out of gaza? >> the violence needs to end immediately. amy: dr. james smith, emergency medical doctor, just back from gaza where he worked to treat patients at al aqsa hospital.