hello and welcome to press tv spotlight, i'm marizia hashimi, thanks so much for being with us. several international agencies are confirming the dire situation in gaza, according to save the children organization, all 1.1 million children in gaza are facing death by starvation or disease. the world food program stopped aid deliveries to the north because of security concerns and talked about the unprecedented levels of desperation. and the un says that 2.3 million

people in gaza are on the brink of starvation, so what do these warnings mean if nothing is done and young and old are being starved to death as the world watches the genocidal regime of the zionis and their western partners continue to kill more palestinians. but i'd like to welcome my guests to this program. out of moscow, a former cia analyst larry johnson, and out of vermont, research and political analyst christopher haloli. well, thank you both for being with us on the spotlight, it started off in moscow, and larry, how is it that these international agencies can witness the dire situation and even issue warnings about it, but do nothing. i mean, what good are the

organizations unless there are enforcement, they're able to enforce it? yeah, no, i, i agree, it's truly shocking. what we're seeing is something that's a kin to what happened to jews in the warsaw ghetto and in the lots ghettos during world war ii, and you would think the jews who went through that or at least the ancestors of those who went through that, but have some measure of compassion, some measure. of humanity uh and instead they're doing the same thing that the nazis did to the jews, shut shutting off access to food, uh, you had images during world war ii of these children dying and starving in the streets, well you're seeing that now, and the problem with particularly for the palestinian of children, children are very fragile, uh, i worked my way through college as a respiratory therapy tech, and what we learned back then is that children can get sick and go... go down hill very, very quickly, so

it's important that they have adequate nutrition, that they have uh, that they are properly fed, they are have adequate access to water, and and the fact that israel is denying them that willfully, knowingly, and and the rest of the world, with the exception of the huties, the hoothis are the only country that's actually fighting back, trying to take action to compel israel to impose sease fire. and stop killing the palestinians okay, well christopher, your opinion that the world is watching this really regime use starvation as a weapon of war, which is a war crime, so what is supposed to happen next with this information? let's say in this little perfect world, what is supposed to happen at this point? okay, they're using starvation as a weapon of war, which is a war crime, what happens next? an ideal world, the entire is. government and all the israeli

military officers and non-commission officers would be before an international tribunal for war crimes, just like in nurenburg or in japan after the second world war, but of course we sadly don't live in a perfect world, we await one, but we don't have one yet, and so as we continue to struggle, we realize that all of these crimes that we are witnessing, war crimes of of horrific magnitude are happening and unfolding before our eyes and many of... the international institutions and structures are powerless in the face of such devastation and such crimes, and so really what can we do? the only thing that can be done is the continuing pressure from outside by foreign governments by populations that are using the boycott divestment instinctions movement, the bds movement, to continue to pressure their government, their institutions, the corporations that they buy from, their pension funds to divest. holy from the

zionist entity to completely cut off relations with the state of israel and to pressure uh their powers that they have control over to. enact some type of change, but you know, with all of that uh not happening yet or happening a very slow pace, we sadly are witnessed to this spectacle of carnage and genocide before us and are relatively powerless, of course we know that the hutis are fighting, hezbollah is fighting, many other groups are trying to do what they can, but given the the the relationship of the zionist state with the united states and with its western partners and allies, it's very difficult to bring justice at this point, but we believe justice will prevail at some point. the question is when. okay, well larry, as the regime commits these unbelievable crimes everyday in gaza and in the west bank, it is also experiencing uh growing pressure from within. your

thoughts on that, do you think that the dissension that is happening inside of the israely regime will help lead to its implosion? no, unforce. fortunately, i think what it's going to take, and and what we've seen is israel has withdrawn lot of its combat brigades from gaza, shifted them a little bit out of the west bank and deployed them north on the border with lebanon and syria. i anticipate as per predictions by general holevi of the israeli occupation force and by public opinion polls in israel that they're going to launch. an offensive operation into lebanon to take on, this is insane on the part of israel, it's one of the stupidest things they could do, but the irony is it may be end up turning into the salvation of the palestinian people, because

israel is likely to be defeated and defeated decisively if they do this, and so let me just jump in here, larry, let me just jump in here with what what you're saying, so you believe at this point in time more soon that the regime is going to turn more of its attention to the north and attack lebanon directly, they want to take on hezbollah, what do you think it thinks that it can accomplish by doing that? they're delusional, they didn't pay attention to what happened in 2006, heavens, they didn't even pay attention to what happened in 1982, you now they were responsible for the massacres of sabara and shatila. the refugee camps there, but hezbaah is a real army. hesbolah is not a collection of sandal wearing, green head scarf guys, running around ad hawk. they're an actual formidable military force. israel in its

hubrus and in its arrogance believes that it can attack hesbalah and prevail. uh, i believe that that is wrong. i believe that there is. will discover the hard way that hezballah is a credible military force, perhaps one of the best military forces in the middle east today. israel is not a good military force as we've seen by their conduct in gaza and in the west bank. they are undisciplined, they are untrained, they are a group of reservis that occupy that react more to emotion than according to professional military. hezballah ironically, though characterized as a terrorist force, is in fact a much more competent, professional military force, and they're likely to crush the israeli invasion, that when israel is facing certain military defeat, it will be

that which will provide the opening for negot a genuine negotiated settlement where israel will have to forgo its desire to exterminate the palestinians. hm, interesting announce this. christopher, your your thoughts on what larry just said. i think larry is correct. i do believe accurately, as he has pointed out, hezbullah is not only capable fighting force, but they have had combat experience over the past decade fighting against these salafi and wahabi groups in syria, supporting the syrian government in damascus and and and you know fighting. waging a struggle against these us backed forces that were there, whether it be islamic uh state, al-nusra, and and all of the other alphabet soup of groups that were over there, really what it is now is you have hezbollah, not only a formidable military force, but a formidable with a formidable

military arsenal with technological capabilities, with advanced weaponry and with the capabilities to strike not only the border but deep into into israel. territory and so i think that this is critical for us to recognize that the entering of hezbulah into this war fully, not as it has been very cautiously and you know uh... strike at this base, one strike at that base, we're talking about an all-out war here, if that's what happens, as my colleague points out, if that does happen, the israeli military is no match for hezbollah, not only in terms of head to head, but the asymmetric warfare, which they are not ready and capable to handle at this point, it is not some roadside bombs, this is going to be a full on struggle that they have not really dealt with in many decades. okay, well larry, as israeli regime continues to target infants and kids, the palestinian

resistance continues to target zionist, soldiers and equipment. your assessment of the resistance now, almost five months into this genocide? well, israel claimed that their initial goal was to eliminate hamas. you know, i, i could understand that it at the outset of this military operation by israel, if they had strictly. targeted hamas fighters, they might have had a chance of bringing in some support from governments like turkey, saudi arabia, if they confine themselves to that, but they revealed their hand. this, this is not about fighting or defeating hamas, this is about destroying the palestinian people, and it doesn't matter whether they're muslim or christian, the the israelis are intent. on killing, destroying all palestinians, there is no reason,

justification, excuse in the world to explain the the deaths of these children and these mothers that is that is just become the daily story uh out of gaza and to lesser extent in the west bank, so uh, israel has disgraced itself, it has lost whatever moral authority it might have pretended to exert, and i am sad to see it, but it is incumbant upon the world to condemn this geneside, because that's what it is, this is, this is not a justified military operation responding against particular attackers, this is collective punishment, and that is not right, and under uh regime in the world, be they a monarchy, democracy, whatever, there's no

justification or excuse for this. christopher, there's shelling of displaced families, there's a little water of food, there's no medical aid, and basically no break for the palestinian people, and no place safe there, and the regime continues to attack, i mean, do you agree with larry said, is the goal of this regime to kill every palestinian, the goal? has always been to kill every palestinian to wipe the land clean, you the mythology that this was a land without a people can only come to pass in reality if the palestinians are extinguished from their land, and this has been the rallying cry of the far right in israel for many decades, this is not new, what is new is this situation where now you have these very fascistic leaders in power, here i'm thinking of... ver and smutrich in particular and their political parties and their allies of course who have it as a stated goal that from

the sea to the river is only jewish territory, it's only for the jewish people, it is, there should be nobody else there, and that doesn't only mean muslims, it means christians as well, it means other minorities as well, and so the stated goal is nothing, nothing palestinian to remain on that land. and so this attack on october 7th, october 7th provided the perfect opportunity to carry out this operation, which they might not have been able to do without this happening, and so now with it in full effect, we're witnessing right before our eyes, they are not simply targeting hamas, and as my colleague said, i think that if they had done that, they would have had a little bit more support from some countries that have now turned against them, they are destroying every house, every build. building, every piece of infrastructure, everything that they can hit, they are hitting with the stated

goal of, we will allow for emigration, we will allow you to leave, we will give you any documents you need, but they know that once they leave, they're not coming back, just like after the nakpa, the 75000 plus palestinians who left who were forced to leave who were evicted from their land have not returned, that's what's happening today, and that's what we are recognizing, that's... people are saying this is genocide, because it is the cleansing of the palestinians from their land, and the problem is how to stop uh, israel from carrying out this fully, and you you've... recognize that it's very difficult to do because the us has protected it for so long and because israel is an illegal nuclear power and this provides the cover and protection that it so desires. so what are you saying there with the uh christopher just staying with you what you just said at the end about being a nuclear power? do you think that the regime would use

that to threaten for example i don't know the americans are home? tell tell me what you mean by that? what i mean? is that it's very hard to displace uh the the the the israeli regime that israel's only salvation is the fact that it's a nuclear power, that if it had not been a nuclear power that i think many armies would have gone gone in and would have dismantled this fascist state, but sadly because it's a nuclear power that's its only saving grace by which it holds the saber over its neighbors and the region and says nobody can touch us no matter how many genocides we commit we will. deserve the right to use these nuclear weapons, that's the danger of this zionist entity. okay, well larry, how much longer do you think these western governments and their regional puppets can do nothing about this everyday suffering and destruction taking place in gaza? unfortunately it's all under the israeli timetable uh, they're going to launch

invasion into southern lebanon. i think that's pretty certain. uh, the timing of it remains unknown. "once they do that uh, whatever initial success they might have, might think they have, it's going to crumble. uh, hezbolah is going to defeat the armored columns that the israelis try to insert, and then they're going to launch a counterstrikes. uh, hezballah has missiles that can penetrate deep into israel that are they haven't used really up to this point, and so they will then cause significant mass casualties in..." israel problem, at that point that is going to put the government of benjamin netanyahu in a complete chaos, because they will have provoked a fight that they're not capable of winning, and even even with nuclear weapons, they can threaten to use nuclear weapons at that point, but this is like launching nuks a point blank range where it would do as much damage to israel as

it could potentially to hasballah or anybody else, so uh, i, i mean, this, look, we're talk. horrific scenario, there is this kind of death and destruction is so needless, so useless, and yet i personally i can not erase the images of these children, of these women, these families who are morning their dead and who are trying trying escape the violence, and yet israel continues to inflict it upon them, and they're not. carrying firearms, they're not carrying bombs, they're not carrying missiles. it is, it's inhuman, it's unjust. yes, i think it's affected, as you said, it's inhuman, and it has affected the psychee of anyone humane in this world by this time. well, christopher, what has the regime accomplished with this holocaust from a military perspective? they've accomplished

nothing, really, they've accomplished nothing in terms of their stated goals. what they have accomplished is destroying all the infrastructure, killing 35 plus thous palestinians and displacing them, but in terms of in terms of military, in terms of a strategic goal or aims or victory, like they're trying to say, they really haven't accomplished anything, in fact they've made the situation far worse for themselves, because now they've isolated themselves politically, they've isolated themselves in terms of the world stage, and now of course they are in a predicament because now they've destroyed all this infrastructure and now what's going to happen, they're going to leave almost two million palestinians in gaza without houses, without water, without fuel, without electricity, for how long, how long will the international community stand for this? and so what people are saying and what many commentators are rightfully pointing out is that this pressure will eventually bring

down the government of netanyahu most likely, and what comes next is a government that either... will have to take responsibility for the plight of the palestinians in gaza and try to open up and and lessen loosen the restrictions that have been on gaza, or they will go in the opposite direction and further isolate themselves and further in, add fire and fuel to this situation, but i think that this this holocaust, this genocide that we're witnessing cannot go on for much longer without serious consequences for. on the international stage and domestically within israel society. we watched those videos just over the past few days of clashes in many of the cities in israel and many protesters calling for the austing of netanyahu. "i think israeli society is boiling as well, what that looks like will show what the future looks like for the people in gaza and for the people in the region. well, larry,

the regime has said that whatever it does, it's to protect the israeli regime security, which obviously, that's almost an oximoron, but but in general, do you think that this regime now can recover or even survive after becoming the prior of the world?" "i think it's important to recognize that even if netanyahu goes, despite his toxic nature and his terrible governance, that still the majority of the israeli population support the policies that he has been following, so even if benny gance, who is considered liberal, uh, in western standards comes into office, he is going to advocate some" the same policies about destroying and eliminating palestinians, so this is not, just simply a change in government in israel

is not going to eliminate the threat to the palestinians, the only thing that's going to eliminate the threat to the palestinians is a military defeat of the israeli military, uh, they must be suffer a significant defeat in lebanon, and then it will be at that point that the... "the the muslim nations that surround israel will at least have some bargaining power to compel israel to accept the palestinians, accept a palestinian state and not not continue to engage in this policy of genocide, which they they they're going to follow whether it's netanyahu or ben against. okay, well christopher, i mean the regime continues to say as mentioned earlier that it wanted to destroy hamas and of course they haven't been able to..." do that, on the other hand, would you say that with the crimes that the zionists have committed against palestinians, that it has actually become the biggest recruiter for the

resistance, that more and more people realize that they have no choice um when dealing with this regime except to resist, and we we hear stories about uh many young people um today who perhaps they didn't even have that perspective before october the 7th, but the... they definitely feel that resistance is the only way after losing all of their loved ones and everything that they ever knew, absolutely, i think that after the second interfather for, in the 90s and the 2000s we were, you know, and into the 2010s we were told, okay, peace, let's give peace a chance, let's try non-violent actions, there were many projects and programs in especially in the occupied west bank trying to figure out if civil society could move the needle a resolution um to the ongoing occupation of the palestinian people, and of course what this whole, five months has proven to us is

that armed resistance is the only way to bring the zianist regime to its knees, that no matter how many demonstrations you do, how many uh peaceful sit ins, how many non-violent actions you do, the zionists only understand one language and that's the language of force, okay? so so i think here it's it's necessary to recognize that they have become the greatest recruiter for the access of resistance in history. all right, not that note, i think both of you for being with me on this spotlight. larry johnson, former cia analyst out of moscow, christopher halali, research and political analyst out of vermont, and thank you viewers for being with us on another spotlight, i'm marza hashimi, hope to see you right here, same time tomorrow, goodbye. how designs come from across the world to

palestine to occupy a land belonging to another nation? how do they form their secret army, hagana? how do they grab lands belonging to palestinians? how did they build and expand their illegal settlements? israel's former prime minister goldomir answers these and more questions in this documentary.

your headlines on press dv gaza's health ministry says the situation in the northern part of the territory is extremely catastrophic and indescribable as hospitals have run out of fuel. the head of the unraw says the humanitarian crisis. in gaza is a mandate disaster or man-made disaster calling for agent steps to deliver aid to the besieg territory and iran says the us and the uk are escalating tensions and crises in the region by launching air strikes on yemen.