02/06/24 02/06/24 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] nermeen: from new york, this is democracy now! >> secretary blinken on his trip to the middle east, what we need to be watching for is how much arab and israeli officials take him seriously. the biden administration has not been able to negotiate an end to the war.

nermeen: over half of all residents of gaza have sought refuge in rafah. beleaguered states has rejected calls for cease-fire, blinken is pushing for new trruth. then we speak to an american doctor who recently returned from gaza. >> [indiscernible] it is the ones that we can save. it is that 15-year-old that had he just got to the operating room, had we not been completely overwhelmed with the overflow of 500 patients. in the er overnight. nermeen: we will speak with dr. jilani.

all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm nermeen shaikh. as gazans brace for an expected israeli ground invasion of rafah, unrelenting attacks across the besieged territory continue as the death toll tops 27,500 people with another 67,000 wounded after nearly four months of daily attacks. israeli strikes hit residential areas, elementary schools, hospitals, and aid distribution sites all within recent days. the palestine red crescent society published footage monday showing its jabalia headquarters in northern gaza heavily destroyed after israeli attacks. meanwhile, an unrwa food convoy was attacked by israeli artillery fire monday. this is the communications director for the u.n. palestinian refugee agency.

>> it was the first time an unrwa convoy was attacked. it is the third time it has been exposed to an attack on its way to the north of gaza. this is not acceptable. humanitarian convoys, according to international law, must be protected from all parties of the conflict, also during combat. nermeen: the u.n. says an independent investigation into israeli allegations that a handful of unrwa staff were involved in hamas' october 7 attacks. the panel's findings are expected to be released in late march. in the interim, the u.s. and a dozen other countries have halted funding for the life-saving agency. nearly the entire population of gaza is displaced and reliant on aid. this is ayesha abu al-khair, a mother displaced from gaza city. >> in 2024, we are dreaming of living our lives. people move forward and live their lives.

we ask of the president of the united states to help the people of gaza send aid. he could see the situation in gaza and how difficult life is and how children are lacking food and water. instead of helping israel with rockets and missiles, he should look at how much the people are struggling to get a plate of food or a love of bread. nermeen: report says israel's army has been carrying out unlawful killings of civilians in the occupied west bank and should be investigated for possible war crimes. amnesty says israeli forces have displayed "a chilling disregard for palestinian lives" as a wave of brutal violence in the west bank has intensified since israel began its assault on gaza . amnesty investigated four cases of violence, including one israeli raid on nour shams refugee camp in tulkarem that

began october 19 and went on for at least 30 hours as israeli forces stormed dozens of homes, cut off water and electricity to the camp, destroyed infrastructure with bulldozers, and blocked two ambulances from reaching injured residents. at least 13 people, including six children, were killed in the raid. since october 7, at least 360 people have been killed by israeli forces in the west bank, including 94 children, according to the u.n. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken is meeting with leaders in egypt and qatar today on his second day of a middle east tour as a possible new gaza truce and hostage handover inches forward amid rising regional tensions. blinken met with crown prince mohammed bin salman in saudi arabia monday and will also travel for meetings in israel and the west bank. u.s. officials say blinken's trip is aiming to ease tensions in the middle east, where the u.s. is supporting israel's catastrophic war on gaza and u.s. military forces have struck yemen, iraq, and syria in recent weeks. this comes as yemen's houthi forces say they fired more

missiles at two u.s.- and u.k.-owned vessels in the red sea. the houthi movement said such attacks will continue "until the siege is lifted and the aggression against the palestinian people in the gaza strip is stopped." meanwhile, france's new foreign minister stéphane séjourné used his first official visit to israel on monday to urge prime minister benjamin netanyahu to allow an immediate ceasefire and a massive influx of humanitarian aid to gaza. séjourné also met monday with palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas where he called for an end to settler violence. nicaragua could move to take germany, canada, the u.k., and the netherlands to the international court of justice over their role in aiding israel's genocide in gaza. nicaragua called on the four nations to immediately stop providing arms, munitions, and technology to the israeli army. meanwhile, south africa's minister of international relations naledi pandor said she

questioned why international criminal court chief prosecutor karim khan why he issued an arrest warrant against russian president vladimir putin over his actions in ukraine but not for israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. pandor visited the icc offices while in the hague for the icj ruling on south africa's genocide case against israel. prosecutor khan was not able to answer the question. back in the u.s., hundreds of pennsylvanians rallied at the state capitol in harrisburg to demand the state divest millions from israel bonds. the protest was led by jewish voice for peace, the philly palestine coalition and the council on american islamic relations cair. , police arrested 186 demonstrators. state representative chris rabb attempted to shield protesters from arrest and later defended their right to protest, evoking the history of the civil rights struggle and black history month. >> all the things we talked

about during black history month or martin luther king day, all of those things were far more than inconvenient, they were radical. they were radical. this is a radical expression of one's first amendment rights. send the people help. this is the most ironic lace to arrest people for expressing their first amendment rights. nermeen: a new report by the guardian has exposed a growing internal rift at cnn over its one-sided coverage of israel's war on gaza and the "censoring of palestinian perspectives." cnn's atlanta headquarters issues editorial directives for the entire network, relying on official israeli accounts. in addition, all content must be approved by the jerusalem bureau. this comes amid outrage over recent racist and inflammatory headlines in mainstream newspapers in the u.s. on friday, "the wall street journal" published an op-ed piece friday titled "welcome to dearborn, america's jihad capital."

in response, dearborn's mayor abdullah hammoud said he was ramping up police presence across religious sites and landmarks over fears of racist violence. president biden and michigan governor gretchen whitmer both condemned the article. meanwhile, long-time "new york times" columnist thomas friedman penned an op-ed titled "understanding the middle east through the animal kingdom" in which he compared iran to a parasitoid wasp, writing, "we have no counterstrategy that safely and efficiently kills the wasp without setting fire to the whole jungle." michigan congressmember and the only palestinian-american u.s. lawmaker rashida tlaib said, "this is blatant islamophobia and anti-arab racism that puts people's lives in danger." in texas, a man attacked four young muslim americans who were driving home from a protest for palestinian rights in austin

on sunday. three of the victims are sunday. -- three of the victims are palestinian-americans, including a 23-year-old who was stabbed after the attacker pulled them out of the car. they say the suspect, who has been identified as bert james baker, yelled obscenities, including the n-word, and tried to rip a keffiyeh hanging from the car. the council on american-islamic relations, cair, is calling on authorities to charge baker with hate crimes, saying -- "those responsible for this violence must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. and those fomenting the anti-palestinian and anti-muslim hate that leads to this violence must be condemned." senegalese lawmakers voted to delay presidential elections until december 15 following president macky sall's announcement saturday postponing the vote, which had been scheduled for later this month. chaos overtook the parliament as opposition lawmakers attempted to block the vote in protest.

>> this is not possible. they are stealing from the population of senegal. nermeen: security forces forcibly removed some lawmakers during the session. the election postponement by president sall, who has already served the maximum two terms allowed, was followed by street protests and accusations of a constitutional coup by his opposition. rights groups warn senegal's democracy and political stability are at stake. in sudan, a new report by doctors without borders warns at least one child dies every two hours in a camp for displaced people in north darfur as fighting between the sudanese army and the paramilitary rapid support forces enters its ninth month. the humanitarian aid group estimates that about 13 children die each day in the zamzam camp, one of the largest sites for internally displaced people in

sudan, where msf is the only health provider. children that are suffering from severe malnutrition are expected to die within a few weeks unless they receive urgent care. this comes as the world food programme says many people are dying of starvation as hunger has doubled in sudan over the past year due to the ongoing violence that has cut off civilians from accessing aid. nearly 18 million people across sudan are facing acute hunger, while nearly 11 million have been displaced from their homes. back in the u.s., the poor people's campaign launched a 40-week operation to catalyze the voting power of poor and -- poor people across the country. some 7000 volunteers will be tasked with mobilizing 15 million voters ahead of november's election, with the first major coordinated actions taking place outside 30 statehouses on march 2. this is bishop william barber unveiling the initiative at a press conference monday. >> for far too long, extremists

have blamed for people and low which people while moderates too often have ignored or people and appealed to the so-called middle class. meanwhile, poor and low income, low-wage people have become nearly half of this country and we are today to make wondering -- one thing clear. we have the power to determine and decide the 2024 elections and elections beyond. amy: millions of people gathered across turkey to commemorate one year of the devastating earthquake and its aftershocks killed over 50,000 people. in antakya, the capital of hatay, the worst hit southern province, crowds held a moment of silence at 4:17 in the morning local time, marking the moment the quake struck. protests broke out as residents continue to demand justice and accountability from authorities for poorly regulated construction and for delays in

responding to the disaster, which left many to die trapped in the rubble and in the freezing temperatures. others gathered in malatya to mourn their dead. >> i've lost my children. i lost my daughter, son-in-law, three grandchildren. it feels like i am living the same days again. only the members are left. their love is what is left. they are my children. what can i say? it is difficult. nermeen: the 7.8 earthquake killed some 6000 people in northern syria, worsening an already dire humanitarian crisis after over a decade of conflict. many who lost their homes are still sleeping in tents. this is a syrian man who lost his home and remains unhoused, along with this neighbor. >> he has nothing now. he is staying in this tent. the situation is really bad. no one asked about him nor came

to check. he is staying in the tent. god help him and everyone. we are all staying intense after year after the earthquake. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. when we come back, tony blinken is back in the middle east as israel threatens to launch a ground invasion of rafah were over half of the residents of gaza have sought refuge. the u.s. has rejected calls for permanent cease-fire and blinken is seeking a new truth. ♪ [music break]

nermeen: "nixon baba" performed by maryam saleh and zeid hamdan. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm nermeen shaikh, joined by amy goodman. hi amy! amy: hi, nermeen. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world.

i am not -- for four years i somehow avoided getting covid but i ended up getting it. asymptomatic. i am at the tail end of it. i just have to go from positive to negative. it is not exactly in my nature to go negative but i am really working on it. until then, nermeen is there and i am here. most important, on with the show. nermeen: we look forward to having you back, amy. secretary of state tony blinken is heading to qatar and then to israel and the west bank after holding talks in egypt and saudi arabia. this comes as israel threatens to launch a ground invasion of the southern gaza city of rafah where over half of all residents of gaza have sought refuge. palestinian health officials say israeli attacks killed 107 palestinians over the past day, bringing the palestinian death toll to over 27,500, including over 11,500 children.

this is blinken's fifth trip to the middle east since hamas attacked israel on october 7. the state department says blinken is pushing for a pause to israel's assault and for hamas to release all remaining hostages seized nearly four months ago. on monday, blinken met with saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman in riyadh where they discussed a potential deal involving saudi arabia normalizing relations with israel in exchange for israel agreeing to a pathway for a palestinian state. saudi arabia is also seeking a new military pact with the united states and u.s. assistance with its nuclear program. this comes as hamas is reportedly reviewing a truce and hostage deal negotiated in part by mediators from egypt and qatar. blinken's trip comes just days after the united states bombed 85 targets in syria and iraq in retaliation for a recent drone strike by iranian-backed militants on a base in jordan that killed three u.s. troops. the u.s. has also repeatedly

bombed yemen over the past two weeks, targeting sites controlled by houthi forces who have been targeting ships linked to israel and the united states to protest israel's assault on gaza. we begin today's show with akbar shahid ahmed, senior diplomatic correspondent for huffpost, based in washington, d.c. welcome to democracy now! we are very happy to have you. if you could first respond -- tell us what is most important about the meetings that blinken had already with the crown prince at his face today in egypt, what is at stake. looks thank you for having me. secretary blinken's open-air officials will finally believe the u.s. is sears about an end to the carnage in gaza. it is a hard ask because a lot of arab diplomats and regional diplomats were worried about the conflict that the biden administration has no real

interest in pressuring. you have repeated comments from israeli officials saying we went to see hamas leaders killed. and ideas for resettlement of gaza. extreme the controversial. blinken is dealing with israelis who are not same with air diplomats want to hear. he is representing a president who has a policy of near total support for israel and getting flack from our diplomats. blinken is a skilled official, skilled mediator, but it is a hard task because there's not a lot of goodwill right now for the u.s. nermeen: -- amy: if you could talk about what you think took place before the crown prince of saudi arabia and blinken and the significance of what exactly saudi arabia, the united states, and israel are proposing, hamas attack on

october 7 took place just around the time saudi arabia was going to normalize relations with israel. talk about what that would mean and exactly what these proposals are and how possible you think they are. >> absolutely. prior to the october 7 attack, the u.s., saudi arabia, israel were talking about this deal that would involve the saudi's giving israel recognition from saudi arabia. which is a huge win for israel. after many years, this would be the biggest, most important muslim majority country in the world, essentially said we recognize israel and importantly without israel having to make significant concessions on the palestinian -- that is where this whole process has been beneficial for the u.s., saudi, israel. the palestinians and their advocates have been saying, where are we in the

conversation? prayer talks, already huge anxiety about these talks. then the attacks happen. no one has said they see u.s. -- the process as part of the reason for the october 7 attack. in part for the palestinians to bring this issue back on the negotiating table. however, since then what we have seen is that rather than considering maybe this approach got us to conflict, the biden administration has doubled down on the u.s.-saudi-israel deal. they have tied it to what they were doing before the gaza war. the new proposal is rebuilt gaza using saudi money. this will be part of the whole package that will get the israel is to make concessions to post needs and the american commitment they want.

in terms -- it is i would say contentious. u.s. officials i talked to within the government, one described this as "delusional he optimistic." you have so many parties involved. you do not have the commitment from the u.s. to get palestine anything major yet economic guarantees. and then you have what you referenced, the strike by militias. a lot of spoilers, other forces around the region who don't like this deal who certainly see the deal special between saudi, israel, u.s. as risky for iran and its network. in terms of feasibility of something being approved, i'm skeptical. it is important to remember a very short runway now prior to the election. if the biden administration was to get a security treaty with saudi arabia from the senate while they still have control of the senate, they only have six

months to do it. amy: can you talk about what is happening today with tony blinken in cairo and qatar before going to israel and then the occupied west bank? >> absolutely. the egyptians and the countries are critical mediators because the u.s. does not speak directly to hamas, which the u.s. lists as a terrorist organization. so any messages from the u.s. have to go through qatar and egypt. israel doesn't really like --blinken is in cairo, hoping to get those governments to pressure hamas. now the ask is on hamas's side. the longer there is a delay, the more it seems this deal isn't achieving what the palestinians nor hamas might want. so you have seen prime minister netanyahu say i want to kill hamas leadership.

that raises the state for hamas to say, why would we agree to to we deal if after that you're just going to come back and kill our leadership? i think does the prospects of the deal to me seem low right now. some of the other important sticking points are there is broad agreement the hostages, particularly civilians and the older people and children should be released. but the question is, how many palestinians is israel willing to release and return? there's a certain leader seen as a unified figure and hamas says they want him out of jail. for a lot of israelis who don't want to see unified palestinian movement, that is a no go. there are a lot of sticking points. it is up to secretary blinken to push everyone towards a median. i think the qataries can play a helpful role with hamas, but any

indication of your seriousness is needed and we have not seen that from president biden. nermeen: as you said, the issue of the release of palestinian prisoners is something that netanyahu at least has ruled out , as well as the creation of a palestinian state. it is unclear how these positions can be reconciled because there is no incentive for hamas to go along with this. but i want to ask, saudi arabia is also pushing minimally for the minimal condition of the creation of a palestinian state, but were two other arab states stand, including egypt and qatar , who are the mediators? where else to arab states stand on this and is it important at all? >> it is critical -- i love how you phrase it. the saudis what us to think they're pushing for the creation of a palestinian state but the language is sort of shifting.

sometimes they say creating a palestinian state and sometimes they say -- irreversible steps. that goalpost is shifting all the time. i think for the saudis in particular really express disdain for the palestinian force in recent years. a deep enthusiasm. for these saudis, limited palestinian concession would be acceptable if they can get some kind of palestinian windowdressing of approval -- and i've heard from my sources, there are negotiations going on between the saudis and maybe some fairly palestinians who might be willing. in terms of other states, qatar is one of the fish wanting to see a resolution here. i think for a lot of states were not taking the strongest position earlier, united arab

emirates, morocco, air countries that have made deals with israel. i think after this war and the tension, the risk of a huge middle east war, those countries are feeling more and more we need a resolution to the conflict. for egypt, particularly because of the strikes you mission by the houthi movement in yemen, shipping is not going through the suez canal as much and for egypt that is an economic lifeline. they want the war over for shipping. at the same time, it is critical to remember if egypt helps israel with its blockade of gaza for the last 16 years, egypt has not for years wanted to see a strong palestinian presence. i think they will be weighing that cautiously and won't necessarily be for advocates. nermeen: you have written extensively at the moment we see netanyahu being singled out as

the person who is responsible for the present situation. he certainly has not made it any easier and arguably much more brutal. although as you point out, it is important to look at the long-term context in israel and in particular u.s. support for israeli policies, whatever form they have taken. so if you could elaborate on that and what this teaches you see between netanyahu and his predecessors on the question of gaza? >> absolutely. netanyahu is an easy bogeyman. you are already seeing democrats who are kind of struggling, scrambling to defend president biden's policy insight it is not about biden, but netanyahu. and netanyahu oppose president trump and obama. netanyahu is an easy bogeyman.

absolutely we have to look at the context. for the first three years of the biden administration, two of those years they did not have a prime minister. slightly more moderate government. in that moment, the u.s. did not try to pursue any kind of progress. president biden did not even reverse powell -- policies that president trump imposed. the thing that needs to be question, netanyahu attempting to hold onto power for as long as he can but as one analyst put it, impunity. if you think about the broader israeli political establishment, the person who would take over if netanyahu were to be unseated in weeks, months, later this year, someone called benny gantz, former israeli general.

the military is a bit more pragmatic on the palestinian issue than politicians are. all that said, even prime minister benny gantz might not be willing to accept statehood, might not give houston needs security control in gaza. so the actual culture has become one in which even the small step toward progress are so difficult it is like pulling teeth. i draw people to the last effective u.s. leverage over israel. interestingly, they have been under republican presidents. george h.w. bush, george w. bush to some extent. but we have not seen that in the last 10 or 15 years, and certainly not under president biden or really under obama. amy: i wanted to talk about the level of dissent in this country and in other countries that are

supporting israel right now. you just wrote a piece about over 800 government officials in the united states and europe that have anonymously signed a statement that their own government's support for israel is in violation of their values. if you can talk more about that? and also come the level at the grassroots in the united states right up to the white house and the state department? in fact, let me play a clip. we interviewed josh paul, high-level state department official, when he quit. you are the one who broke the story about josh paul. i just have to ask before we go, we spoke to you soon after you spoke to the state department and not tober. this was in the midst of israel's bombardment of gaza which came after the october seventh 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 certainly from the u.n. senior official i have heard and continued to hear 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 that their efforts at this point continue to be in vain. i think we need to see a policy change from the top. but i know a lot of good people are continuing to make the argument. amy: that is josh paul, who quit the state department. and he is not the only one. i want to get a sense from you how aware is president biden of the enormous come as our guest yesterday said, incandescent

kind of rage in the democratic base but also in high levels of the government. nermeen just read headlines and harrisburg, the capital of pennsylvania, over one hundred people led by jewish voice for peace were arrested demanding a cease-fire and much more. talk about all of these levels of dissent in the united dates and outside and what effect it is having. is biden fearful that his very reelection is in jeopardy? >> absolutely, amy. i will start with the letter because it is a fascinating statement. more than 800 officials in the u.s., european institutions, netherlands, france, britain. i just heard from another european official yesterday who send a letter. the numbers are going to keep growing. i think the dissent is striking

because given the initial attack, such deep sympathy for israel which is a u.s. partner, there is a sense of we want to do something to help. i think it became so clear within three or four days to people that president biden's approach to helping israel was not going to be measured or strategic or involve planning and all of that, it was just fulltilt whatever they want, whatever the consequences. i think that is where you see a lot of dissent come from. it comes from moral reasons, certainly, also from the sense of is the u.s. carrying out goodwill and shoving away the good work that we have done over years and decades, particularly after former president trump, to reestablish america's reputation in the world? is that all moot now? that is only grown since october

because president biden has not been willing to shift any tangible way. in terms of his own awareness to that, what is so striking about this moment, too, there's a huge national security establishment in washington, as i know you know. so many layers. but this policy is being controlled in a group of i would say 20 to 30 officials around the president. what is really important to remember there is there is a real filtering of information. it is indisputable president biden is going to campaign rallies and events, but to what extent is he aware that many of the actual foreign-policy policy and national secured experts within his government who are nonpartisan are opposed to this policy? i think that is questionable. advisors around him have their own priorities. a gentleman called brett mcgurk who have reported on extensively

is pushing the u.s.-saudi-israel deal and president biden has been going along with that. i think there are heated debates in the president's close circle, but because especially the state department has been so frozen out at this moment -- we have heard they literally have been told, we understand your concern, why don't you try to work on another part of the world? why don't you look at the pacific or latin america? i think that kind of dismissal of this really recent dissent and response to it of listening sessions and town halls and we feel your pain -- people don't want their pain to be felt, they want to see a shift. i think he was even more pushback from within government, certainly within the party. i think one of the important things and maybe this is how the message will get through to the president is not necessarily from his white house security team but maybe through his political contacts.

you've seen multiple democratic senators chris van hollen of maryland and many others who publicly have started to say, ok, we need to see a shift from israel. once those lawmakers, governors, others who are elected official start standing up, you might see a shift from the president. but right now they're still a wariness even on those -- i reported yesterday this new bipartisan border package that was unsealed had democratic senators agreeing to defund the u.n. agency for palestinians. that is a reversal from the biden administration's foreign policy, from democrats. i think as soon as elected democrats kinda find out -- find assertiveness, might see a ship from the president. nermeen: we will be speaking to a doctor who recently returned from gaza where we will discuss what is happening with unrwa in

gaza. thank you so much, akbar shahid ahmed, senior diplomatic correspondent for huffpost, based in washington, d.c. next up we speak to the pediatrician dr. seema jilani with the international rescue committee. back in a minute. ♪ [music break]

nermeen: we spend the rest of the hour with an american doctor who just spent two weeks in central gaza. dr. seema jilani is senior technical adviser at the international rescue committee, where she is senior technical advisor and leads their emergency health responses globally. the team included doctors from both irc and medical aid for

palestinians. before she joins us, we will play some of her voice notes she recorded in houthi hospital's emergency room and in the compound housing emergency medical team. >> where in the resuscitation room in the al aqsa hospital. [indiscernible] i am so sorry. i can hear the airstrikes coming in now. this is the sound of drones outside my window.

more airplanes i believe. i can't sleep. i decided to leave this voice note. when he could the doctor say, whose body part is that? don't carry it to the halls. i don't when children sing that. that is a quote from my colleagues. in the emergency room where i saw a leg being carried with the boot still on, socks still on. it was being carried to the urgency room. we have arrived at al aqsa hospital emergency room. i am seeing children lying on the ground.

double amputation on one child. there are no beds available. people are just on the ground. we have already had three parents come up to us and ask to come see their child. i am what and the local doctors to come to help guide us through what we need to do and do a handover. there is one child approximately eight years old, lying on the ground and next to him as a woman in the wheelchair. their wedding to be seen. the one on the ground has bandages on bilateral lower extremities going all the way up. he was brought in overnight. we're hearing now it was a terrible, terrible night. the bombing. people told to evacuate and they were bombed. there are more people here than

yesterday. yesterday was very full. no beds available. as i said, people -- there's not really room for us or space for us. a gentleman was sobbing in front of me, being comforted by maybe his son, maybe a stranger. i don't know. he is an older gentleman with a bandage on his head and just sitting and holding his head in his hands. crying. head hung low. 1, 2, 3, 4 children in my line of sight right now in the corner that need medical attention urgently. one of whom is crying, little boy around six or seven years old, wiping his tears. i can't see the injuries clearly. see how we can support and help

them through their tragedy. that was very close. >> [indiscernible] >> one morning we arrived to a nurse who was quietly sobbing in the corner. his colic had been killed the night before and tried to resuscitate him in the emergency room. he is dignified and his grief. i asked should we leave but instead he asks us to see a few patients on his behalf. he could just not face the grueling work in the patient's outside the room right now. i felt rewarded that i could be helpful to this one person in this one moment. as i was rounding about two hours later, i raised my head

from a patient to see him come again, right back at work. as if nothing had happened. the next day we see a 23-year-old patient with this lower leg blown off so badly, it is disconnected from its upper leg and flopping. i looked down to put my stethoscope on his chest only to find him still wearing his unrwa fast -- vest as a staff member. the only comfort i can provide him is moisten his dry lips as he yearns for some water, quietly lifting his neck for little more. but quietness here with the wet washcloth to his forehead and whispers of sweetness of calm. none of these interventions are morphine. he died on the floor of a gaza emergency room with little more

than my hand in his hand and washcloth to his forehead. nermeen: those were voice notes reported by dr. seema jilani senior emergency health , technical advisor and pediatrician, traveled to gaza to volunteer in the al aqsa emergency room. she previously worked in gaza and the west bank in 2005 and 2015. she also is a freelance journalist was nominated for a peabody award for her 2006 radio documentary. she joins us now from brussels. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. dr. seema jilani, welcome back to democracy now! if you could talk about your journey to gaza in december where you went from how long you state and what you witnessed. >> we departed cairo on december

25 as part of an emergency medical team with the irc and medical aid for palestinians in partnership. from cairo, we arrived through sinai and then overnight we completed the two day journey to rafah and crossed over into the gaza strip as a team and went to our guesthouse. we arrived from the rafah border all the way to the guesthouse, which only should have been a few kilometers, maybe 10 at most , seven. it took several hours because everyone was leaving and evacuating from the north. there were people piled into cars, vans. there were lucky because fuel is such a precious commodity.

there were babies falling asleep. cats and dogs and families and blankets and mattresses, any food items you can imagine piled into donkey carts and people hanging off trying to evacuate. it was a sea of human tragedy coming straight to the border, straightened southern rafah. it was quite a harrowing scene. people were barefoot looking for shelter, looking for garbage bags to put up tents, looking for lumber. quite something. i have worked in several areas of conflict and it was quite staggering. amy: je dr. jilani, it must be incredible listening to what you're whispering in your microphone, whether you're holding the hand of a dying man or with a baby or in the barracks where you were staying. the place where the doctor slept, does that even exist anymore?

>> our guesthouse was bombed shortly after i left. i am not sure -- it is certainly not functional or able to be resided in. i don't know how it looks anymore. but certainly, it has been bombed, yes. amy: one of the people you describe helping on the floor of the hospital -- i was wondering if you can talk about the significance of al aqsa and what does it mean for so many hospitals not be functioning -- was wearing an unrwa vest. it is the center of controversy right now. netanyahu talks about getting rid of unrwa the way he talks about getting rid of hamas. talk about the central role unrwa plays, whether we're talking about education, hospitals. >> i worked at al aqsa hospital,

one of the last remaining hospitals in the middle part of gaza were central gaza. it was a lifeline for providing critical services. from the time i arrived to the two weeks i saw it declined. i saw the fall of the hospital before my very eyes. in war, we're used to talking but the fall of cities, mosul or saigon. suddenly, we have normalized the fall of al-shifa hospital and al aqsa hospital is normal. saving lives and only in war zone but high functioning society and it is unquestionable that we continue to watch this -- unconscionable that we continue to watch this unfold. unrwa provides services throughout the region. i've worked in gaza, lebanon,

which provides schooling services, health services, education. the thought of defunding such an organization that provides jobs, education, health care, other services that are not otherwise available, really is deeply disturbing. we are now producing a generation of orphans, a generation of children with new disabilities who will then have no access to health care, education, or other services that in some way would be able to help relieve some of their paint and get them back to a functioning society. nermeen: dr. jilani, you have spoken about the fact many patients may not have survived but their pain would certainly have been eased if the proper

medical supplies were made available if minimally medication, spoke specifically of morphine, could be administered to ease their pain. if you could explain how you work under conditions where you don't have access to even minimal medical supplies and what it is your calling for? >> it is the doctors and nurses and health care staff of gaza who have displayed absolute colossal bravery in how their see their patients, many of whom have not been paid and themselves are displaced or scavenging for food, wat er, shelter, then showing up for work. coming to a workplace that does not have what they need to be able to treat their patients with dignity. there is no death with dignity on the floor guys in the emergency room. at the beginning of my time in gaza, we did have access to

morphine. i the end, there was no access. at that point it becomes a cruel and inhumane situation have someone dying without any comfort to offer them. i recall vividly a young boy that had come in not for life-threatening injury but for stitches because of some deep lacerations. usually you use ketamine a situation like that because it is safe and in children it provides pain relief and amnesia so they are not really traumatized from the procedure. we did not have ketamine. i tried any destruction measures i could with this young boy. flashing lights in my arsenal as a pediatrician. i have some toys. he was screaming from the pain. when i tried to ask them and engage him to distract him because that is a mechanism, a coping mechanism we can use i'm every question is a land mine. what i would typically stay in

the u.s. is, who is your best friend? well, his best friend probably or might be dead. what is your favorite food? i don't know the last time this young child eight and would probably traumatize him further. are you closer to your mom or dad? she came it as an orphan with only extended family members. there is no part of their life that has been left untouched. it is completely devastating. amy: can you talk more about being a pediatrician and war zone? also people seeing you as a foreigner coming in and parts we did not play, talk about people just coming up to you and saying, "ceasefire"? >> as the days went on more and more crowded into the hospital seeking safe shelter, entire

families on blankets. little blankets served as their bedroom, breakfast room, kitchen. just in the hopes the hospital would keep them safe and they would see as an turn to us and say, "cease-fire"? even more heartbreaking, "take me with you." "where is safe?" in terms of being a pediatrician, i've worked off the coast of libya, iraq, pakistan, lebanon, egypt. i have never treated this many war wounded children in my career. no system is built to withstand what these people are going through. one day as you saw four out of five of the children who we were actively resuscitating, which means trying to bring back from the brink of death, for a five

of my patients render the age of 15. children. the extent of the injuries, scale, magnitude and severity, especially in terms of burns, is also something i have not borne witness to before. we had approximately 11-year-old girl whose face was completely charred black and her arms were flexed because the birds have penetrated all the way down to the very -- the burns had penetrated all the way down the very flesh of her. the smell of burnt flesh permeated the entire emergency room and will stay with me. nermeen: if you could say it is already so bearable to hear accounts of what you are saying, why do you do this work? what has been like free from one war zone to the next and now in a place like gaza, as you say, we have never seen so many children in an emergency room at

the hospital? >> it is an absolute honor to be let in to people's moments, whether they are tragic moments of death and pain or whether it is a new baby being born and counseling a new mother on breast-feeding. it is the absolute honor my life to serve the people of gaza. i am so lucky to have served alongside these heroes that are nurses and doctors and people that are serving their community's that is why i will keep wayne back and keep doing this work. on the flipside of that, i would say to all of our responsibility to consider the orphans, consider those families who are completely bereft of any and all human dignity that has been taken from them. their fate will sit with us. nermeen: dr. seema jilani, thank you for joining us senior , technical adviser at the international rescue committee, where she leads their emergency health responses globally.

she recently joined an emergency team of doctors from irc and medical aid for palestinians who went to central gaza to volunteer in the al aqsa hospital. that does it for day [captioning made possibly democracy now!]