10/30/23 10/30/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> i wish god will have mercy on us and they were stops. you suffered a lot. we cannot bear what is happening to us. we cannot handle anymore. amy: the death toll in gaza has topped 8300 as israel intensifies its ground and aerial attack on the besieged territory.

as fear grows israel will bomb the al-quds hospital, we will get the latest. then about 400 people were arrested friday as they shut down grand central station in new york calling for a cease-fire in gaza. the group jewish voice for peace said it was largest act of civil disobedience in new york city in 20 years. >> i am a rabbi and i am demanded a cease-fire and a stop to the genocide that is occurring in my name as a jew. my grandparents were in the holocaust. never again for anyone. amy: then as the united states joins with israel in voting against a u.n. general assembly resolution for a humanitarian truce, we will look at washington's support for israel's bombardment of gaza. we will speak to chicago congressmember delia ramirez and

lara friedman of the foundation for middle east peace. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. israeli tanks have reached the outskirts of gaza city after a bombardment that palestinians by israel. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said saturday a ground invasion had begun and warned of a long and difficult campaign ahead. gaza's health ministry says israeli attacks have killed more than 8300 palestinians, including nearly 3500 children. fears are going on of a possible strike on the al-quds hospital in gaza city after israel on sunday ordered its immediate evacuation. airstrikes have repeatedly struck near the hospital where an estimated 14,000 palestinians are sheltering. on sunday, internet and cell phone access was restored to

parts of the gaza strip after israel blacked out all communications for gaza's 2.3 million people. most of gaza remains without electricity and tens of thousands, including pregnant people and babies, have been forced to drink brackish or contaminated water. the u.n. agency for palestinian s says gazans have reached their breaking point. israeli strikes have killed at least 59 unwra employees, with many more believed to be trapped under the rubble. on saturday, families of those held hostage by hamas met with netanyahu. they're calling israel to exchange thousands opposed in prisoners for the more than 200 israeli's believed to be in hamas's custody. netanyahu has apologized after he published then deleted the social media post blaming

defense and intelligence officials for failing to warn him ahead of hamas's deadly attack october 7. the palestinian health ministry says the death toll in the occupied west bank has reached 111 since october 7. at least seven of those were killed by israeli settlers, including 40-year-old bilal muhammad saleh, who was fatally shot saturday near nablus as he was harvesting olives with his family. on friday, residents of the jenin refugee camp said israeli army bulldozers destroyed a memorial for the palestinian-american journalist shireen abu akleh erected at the spot where she was fatally shot in the head by an israeli sniper in may 2022. the u.n. general assembly voted 120-to-14 friday in favor of a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce and for aid access to gaza. israel and the u.s. voted against the resolution, which also calls for the release of

captive civilians. 45 member states abstained, including canada. some countries, including south africa, urged the u.n. to do much more to stop the bloodshed. >> south africa urges the united nations to oppose an embargo on all parties involved in this conflict. given the nature of the death and destruction we are witnessing every day. amy: the resolution is non-binding, but holds political and symbolic weight. over the weekend, hundreds of thousands of people joined palestinian solidarity marches from london to istanbul to wellington. in the u.s., demonstrators in san francisco blocked traffic on highway 101 and held a vigil in front of congressmember nancy pelosi's house. in philadelphia, jewish-american groups led an action in front of the office of senator john fetterman, a staunch defender of israel. here in new york, thousands of

people, led by jewish voice for peace, converged at grand central station friday night for the largest sit-in protest the city has seen in over two decades. among the massive crowd were elected officials, rabbis, and academics. new york police arrested nearly 400 people. before she was arrested, i spoke with rosalind petchesky, professor of political science at hunter college. >> believe in justice and the right to live for everyone. palestinians have been the victims of oppression for 75 years, and it has to stop. that is why we are here to say not in our name. i am older than the state of israel. amy: after headlines, we will air more voices from friday's historic protest. in maine, authorities on friday discovered the body of the suspect in a mass shooting rampage at a bar and bowling alley that killed 18 people in

lewiston last week. 40-year-old robert card died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot. his body was found in a trailer at a recycling facility in the nearby town of lisbon two days after the shooting. he had reportedly recently been fired from the recycling center. a motive for the massacre is not known, though authorities say the shooter frequented the bar and bowling alley with his ex-girlfriend. maine police were alerted last month that the army reservist was a possible danger after he threatened to shoot up his military base. local officials and residents of lewiston expressed relief as they now reckon with the tragedy's aftermath. leroy walker, a city councilor, is the father of one of the 18 victims, joseph walker. >> joe is the only one who would come up and say, "i love you dad." sometimes i would say it back and sometimes i wouldn't say that. he would say, "i understand, dad."

but i did not understand. i should have said it. and million times. because it ain't going to happen no more. i got my other boys out there. when i see them, i'm going to tell them i love them. i miss him so much. amy: the united auto workers reached a tentative deal with stellantis saturday. it comes just three days after the uaw announced a tentative agreement with ford, leaving gm as the only member of the big three automakers that has yet to make a deal with the union. this is uaw president shawn fain. >> we call it the standard strike is a tribute to the sit down strike, which built our great union almost 90 years ago. the sit down strike showed the incredible power of regular working class people to fight for economic justice and win big.

after 44 days of occupying the gm plant in flint, michigan, the uaw announced victory. on day 44 of our standup strike, i am honored to announce our union is again victorious. amy: the proposal includes reviving an illinois assembly plant that had been shuttered since february and cost 1200 uaw members their jobs. some 5000 jobs will be added to the stellantis workforce, along with significant raises and an end to tiered wages. in light of the success of the strike, the uaw said it's planning to organize workers at nonunion automakers like toyota, honda, and tesla. in iran, a 16-year-old girl has died weeks after she was reportedly assaulted by iran's morality police for not wearing a headscarf. armita geravand was hospitalized with brain injuries and fell into a coma after witnesses said she was beaten by officers in a tehran subway station earlier this month. amnesty international has called on the iranian government to launch an independent

investigation into her death, which comes about a year after 22-year-old mahsa amini died in custody of the morality police. in germany, 1000 climate activists with the group letzte -- last generation and extinction rebellion netherlands blockaded a major road in berlin saturday. some demonstrators glued themselves to the road's surface. dozens were arrested in their latest act of peaceful civil disobedience as they demand the german government transition to a fossil-fuel-free economy by 2030. >> has health-care workers, we are already seeing the first consequence of people dying because it is too hot in the summer. people with pre-existing conditions suffer more and more, and old people are the first to be affected in extreme weather. even if we think none of this affects us because we are young and healthy enough -- none of us is say.

climate crisis affects us all. the climate crisis kills. amy: and the bangladeshi climate scientist saleemul huq has died in dhaka at the age of 71. saleemul huq served as a lead author on two of the definitive assessments of the earth's climate published by the u.n.'s intergovernmental panel on climate change. he was the director of the international center for climate change and development in bangladesh. in 2021, he appeared on democracy now!, saying wealthy nations like the united states and germany had a lot to learn about climate adaptation from poorer countries like bangladesh. >> the number of deaths we saw in germany and what of the rich countries in the world, nearly 200 germans died from flash floods, would never have happened in bangladesh. we would have evacuated them. we do evacuate everybody that's in the path of floods or in cyclones. in germany, they weren't able to do that. so germany could learn a lot from bangladesh, and so could

the united states. amy: he died of a heart attack in bangladesh at the age of 71. the cr interviews with them, go to democracynow.org. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. israel is intensifying its aerial bombardment and ground invasion of gaza. palestinian officials say the death toll has topped 8300, including over 3400 children. on friday, israeli ground troops , backed by tanks and armored bulldozers, entered gaza amidst a communication blackout that kind of contact between gaza and the rest of the world. communications have now been partially restored. on friday, the united nations general assembly overwhelmingly voted in support of a humanitarian truce, but israel and the united states voted against the resolution. massive demonstrations calling for a cease-fire in gaza

continued this week and including here in new york city. on friday night, thousands of members of jewish voice for peace new york city and their allies shut down the main terminal of grand central station during rush hour. it is the largest sit in protest the city has seen in over two decades. many were shirts that said "not in our name" and "cease fire now." one sign read "never again for anyone." the multiracial, intergenerational movement says about 400 people were arrested, including rabbis, famous actors, elected officials from new york state assembly and that it and the city council. democracy now! was there. today we bring you their voices including professor political science at hunter college.

>> i am here with thousands of others, a lot of us jewss, here to protest the genocide that is happening in our name. it has to stop. we are crying every minute. when we listen to your show, we are crying. i have a dear friend with his family in gaza. he almost got blown up today. we can't let this go on. we believe in justice and the right to live for everyone. palestinians have been the victims of oppression for 75 years. it has to stop. that is why we are here to say not in our name. i am older than the state of israel. amy: there are jewish prayers in the background.

the sun is going down and it is the jewish sabbath. >> it is. we have to pray. we have to recommit ourselves to justice. i believe judaism and jewish ethics -- this is how i grew up thinking -- are about justice and about the rabbi statement, " if i am not for myself, who am i? and if i'm only for me, what am i doing here?" i paraphrased a little bit. if not now, when? peace now. cease fire now. president biden and blinken, listen. >> not in our name1

>> my name is india moore. i am protesting a solidarity with jews, trans people, black and brown victims of colonization, and america's just like you and i couldn't to stand against our tax dollars being used to decimate palestinians. we are standing for peace. we are standing for compassion. we are standing for self to terminating justice and liberate palestine. amy: why grand central? >> because it is the symbol of new york, a symbol of the united states in many ways. we are saying, this is ours.

this is how we go to work, how we go to school. we what the same thing for palestinians in gaza. we want them to be able to live their lives. >> i am a pediatrician. i am here to say any jewish pediatricians are calling for stopping the killing of children and their families, calling for a and, not in our name. i have never been prouder to be a pediatrician went back on friday, october 13, the new york state chapter of the american academy of pediatrics said we stand with the children of israel and the children of gaza. we love all children, all families equally, and call for an immediate cease-fire. that was october 13. unfortunately, children and

their families continue to be killed. [indiscernible] the mass of civilian areas, mess bombing of civilian areas are illegal and immoral. united states should be leading the call for a cease-fire now. and never been prouder of the 18 congress persons who have called for a cease-fire now and i am calling on president biden and senator schumer and mike assembly person nadler, please, these are not jewish values. it is not jewish values to be dropping bombs on children, to be killing children and their families. >> i am here calling for cease-fire and to allow for the freeing of hostages and for

humanitarian aid. [indiscernible] amy: are you planning to get arrested today? >> i got arrested a week ago and i am going to let others step up today. i got arrested a week ago at a sitting outside gillibrand's office calling for a cease-fire. >> i am an assembly member and and i'm here to say the time is now for an immediate cease-fire. amy: are you willing to get arrested? >> i will not be getting arrested today because i was arrested two weeks ago. amy: what rearrested for? >> civil disobedience, disorderly conduct. we were in front of chuck schumer's home calling for an

immediate cease-fire. amy: what does it say on this jewish sabbath, thousands of jews are hearing grand central saying cease fire now? >> it shows what we have been told about the consent for this genocide is not true. so many of the jewish new yorkers here are struggling through heartbreak of october 7 and have made it clear do not use the tragedy as the justification of genocide of palestinians. we have seen more than 7000 palestinians be killed, was to 3000 palestinian children. these new yorkers and summing across the state are saying the time is now for a cease-fire and if you're not calling for, or supporting genocide. close i am a councilmember. amy: you work what area? >> bushwick, east new york. amy: why are you here today? >> to stand in solidarity with

jews, muslims, allies, because we believe in a free palestine without military occupation. we believe we need to end this genocidal war. we do not believe our tax dollars should be used -- unjustified murder of one set of children brings about murder for another set of children. we need to end this war and find a peaceful solution. >> [indiscernible] >> if you do not accompany -- amy: can you tell your name and

why you're getting arrested? >> in is joslin. someone asked for my solidarity and i can give it, that is what i will give right now. the blood is on my hands, too, my tax dollars are funding this. this is the least i can do. amy: why are you getting arrested? >> i was born in a refugee camp in the philippines. i am vietnamese. i am a child of imperialism. i can't see it continue. ♪ which side are you on which side are you on ♪ ♪ >> i name is jane. i am here because my family survived the holocaust, but many did not. one thing i learned, never again mean never again. netanyahu --

this did not start with hamas. it started in 1948 when 750,000 palestinians were removed from where they lived in order to set up a jewish state. these people there killing in gaza, they were moved to gaza because of the 1948 nakba. and now they're trying to eliminate them or kill them or move them somewhere else. stand up and say, "not in our name, not with our tax money, cannot to this kind of genocide ever again." amy: are you getting arrested? >> yes, i am. i am here with my daughters, my grandchildren. they are not to be arrested. they moved out. my husband. we're all here together. there are 13 of us.

>> never again for anyone! never again, israel! >> here to support the people -- it is disgusting our government has enabled this. we will not tolerate that. >> have a cane. they won't arrest me. i want to get arrested and they refuse. i need help standing up. >> hands behind your back. cooks my name is joy. i think it is really important because if there is a cease-fire -- >> can you let go of your cane for a second? i will give it right back to you. >> there's a cease-fire that

people stop killing each other. we have to stop killing each other. we can't, we won't get rid of hamas. we won't get rid of an idea. we might get rid of the organization, we might get rid of all of the people in gaza, but the idea won't die. freedom won't die. amy: voices from the historic jewish voice for peace protest on friday that shut down grand central station in new york city. protesters were calling for a cease-fire in gaza. about 400 people were arrested in what is believed to be the largest sit in protest new york has seen in over two decades.

coming up, democratic congressmember delia ramirez of chicago. she is one of 18 members of the house who have signed a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "from gaza, with love" by saint levant. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. israeli tanks have reached the outskirts of gaza city after israel carried out its most intense bombardment of the besieged palestinian territory since october 7. gaza's health ministry says israeli attacks have killed more than 8300 palestinians, including nearly 3500 children. according to save the children, that is more children that have been killed in armed conflicts globally over the course of a whole year. the u.n. agency for palestine refugees, unwra, says desperate

families broke into u.n. warehouses sunday, removing wheat and other humanitarian aid. unwra says it shows people in gaza have reached a breaking point. the u.n. agency serving palestinians says gazans have reached their breaking point after more than three weeks a bombardments and total siege. israeli strikes have killed at least 59 unwra employees, with many more believed to be trapped under the rubble. on friday, the u.n. general assembly voted 120-or teen in favor of resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce and for aid access to gaza. israel and the u.s. voted against the resolution, which also calls for the release of captive civilians. israel believes hamas and other groups are holding over 220 hostages seized on october 7 during the hamas attack that israel says killed 1400 people. we're joined now by lara friedman, president of the

foundation for middle east peace. a former foreign service officer who served in jerusalem, tunis, and beirut. she has worked on israel/palestine and the broader region for over 30 years. we're also joined by congress member delia ramirez, congressmember from chicago. she is one of 18 members of the house of representatives who have signed a resolution calling for an immediate de-escalation and cease-fire in israel and palestine. we welcome you both to democracy now! congressmember ramirez, let's begin with you in chicago. can you explain why you supported this cease-fire resolution? >> look, i want to safety and hostages released. there are 500 americans and their families in gaza right now, and i want to make sure everyone is safe and that we are using our power to be able to de-escalate the situation.

bombing is not going to bring 500 americans back. i really believe guess you just talked about it, thousand palestinians have died. the only way we are going to get to long-lastingpeace is a cease-fire, de-escalating, using diplomacy. amy: how did this resolution come about? >> look, we were already two weeks into this conflict. we have not seen any form of de-escalation stuff quite the contrary. we have seen people starving to death in palestine, in gaza at this moment. for a number of us, we understand our outcome is peace in the region, the only way we can get started that, where hostages are released, is

de-escalation and cease-fire. we have to make sure we're doing everything we can to prevent a regional war. and the only way you get there is ensuring the safety of innocent civilians is our absolute priority. you won't get that through bombing. we understood and a number of us : the resolution and more members have also joined the resolution recognizing what we are currently doing now is escalating the situation, not de-escalating and the only way we move forward is de-escalating and cease-fire. that is the way you will be able to keep people from dying, protect innocent civilians. 1.2 million children right now in gaza. the cease-fire is our only way of diplomacy and being able to get to a place of peace. amy: what kind of response are you getting it supported this resolution? in an earlier interview, you said -- "what if you ask about the

palestinians? it is honest in assumption you don't announce hamas." can you talk about this? do you feel that is changing? >> i think it is slowly changing. what i say to people is, i came to congress to uplift humanity. i can denounce hamas. i can call for the release of hostages. i can also ask, what about palestinian children? right now we have children under rubble. the number we are seeing is 8000 but that is not the accurate, most accurate number. there are people we have not found. there are families in chicago and all over the world who have not been able to connect with her family in gaza. the reality is if we care about israelis come if we care about the jewish community and their safety, we have to understand it is interconnected with the safety and the freedom of palestinians. amy: what kind of aid you think should go to gaza? what about

funding for israel? >> look, amy, when hundreds of thousands of people have lost their homes, thousands of people have died, their communities have completely been destroyed, the question is -- what will we do to ensure that people are able to, back home when they have no home? we talk about substantial trucks, i mean billions of dollars of responsibility that we at the u.s. who have given military aid for such a long time is responsible to give to help restore a place that has been, in many cases, in many parts of it, burned down to rubble. we need to be able to do that. secondary, for me to be able to say i want more money for bombs, if that is the -- it begs the

question, bombs are going to kill people. in this case, it is killing thousands of civilians. we have seen it already in the last three weeks. we have to do everything we can to ensure we are honoring international law, that the money we are sending is not killing children, that we are uplifting the community of people of israel and gaza. but an, people in the west bank right now, senators are killing people in the west bank and the israeli government is enabling it. it is letting it happen. the aid we send cannot be used to kill innocent lives. it is unacceptable. it is not moral. i can't stand behind that. amy: i am wondering what you think would be a more just u.s. foreign policy? you, congressmember ramirez come are guatemalan-american. we have a history of guatemala and usa for the successive military sheaves that were

responsible for the deaths of so many hundreds of one of mullins in the 1980's and beyond. if you can comment on putting this in a larger context? >> look, we have to ask ourselves, what is the outcome here? is there are two state solution? is it to be able to bring peace to the region, long-lasting peace? because of that is the case, we as the u.s. have to think about the role we have played for the last two decades. you're not at peace. we have seen occupation all over the region. we have to ask ourselves if what we want is long-lasting peace. we must ask ourselves, will this get us to peace? will this get us closer to a two state solution? will this create the kind of policy that will get us to a

place where palestinians and israelis are safe and free? if the answer is no, then we need to reassess how we move and the kind of policy that we have had in the region for the last decades. amy: have you spoken a president biden or his inner circle? i the beginning, he was clear in saying he told netanyahu he did not say use restraint. but now the white house is putting out statements that they are in fact behind the scenes saying that restraint must be used. >> i have not talked to the president directly. i have been talking to the state department on a regular basis. what i have said is, words matter. what we are saying to the american people, what the american people are seeing has a direct impact even for us here. look, when you see netanyahu and his own leadership come his own

leadership calling people less than human, animals, that has consequences. we have seen the impact and the growth of antisemitism and islamophobia. a six-year-old boy, 30 minutes for my district, was stabbed 26 times because his landlord saw this six-year-old little boy as a threat to our society and nearly killed his mother. we have to understand that what we are saying to the people in this moment has real consequences. and we have a moral responsibility to lead from a place of diplomacy seeking peace at all times and holding accountable the israeli government for the ways it is violating international law, for the ways this ground incursion in this moment is killing innocent lives.

we all went hostages out. we also want the 500 americans and their families out. how we are moving in this moment is not making anyone more safe. amy: congressmember delia ramirez, we're also joined by lara friedman, president of the foundation for middle east peace. a former foreign service officer who served in jerusalem, tunis, and beirut. she has worked on israel/palestine and the broader region for over 30 years. it is great to have you with us. can you talk about what is happening in the congress now and you feel movement, change in biden's from the beginning -- after october 7? >> sure. thank you for having me. i do think we are seeing in the piece you had before we came on here, a real movement in the grassroots. there is a surge in energy and

support for palestinian rights that i think has never been seen before. i think it remains to be seen how that will be reflected in congress. if we just go by the statements big made by members of congress, which except for a small number, are at best very cautious about saying anything that would validate the humanity and the rights of the palestinian people. the narrative on both sides of the aisle is mostly about the rights of israel to defend itself and to defend itself is defined basically to me israel can do and should do whatever it wants to do. it bears no responsibility, has to agency with respect to the results when it comes to human casualty. congress has blocked completely the framing that any palestinian that dies in gaza from israeli bombs or gets sick or starved or

dehydrated or ill or dies in a hospital, that is all on hamas, not israel's fault. everything is hamas's fault which suggests a new ethos of war that opens the door for everyone to target civilians. there's the framing of human shields, which basically says it is hamas's fault we are killing your civilians, your children. which there is truth to the argument that hamas placed itself behind human beings. it raises the question if bad guys invaded a school, would united states, for the sake of killing the bad guys, we're going to kill all the children in the school because we have to and it is the bad guys fault. the inhumanity is stunning. what we have seen really since the beginning, since october 7,

a deluge of legislation and letters which by and large either ignore or diminish the humanity of palestinians which directly conflates criticism of what israel is doing in gaza or assertions there's any context that there is history before october 7 conflated with anti-semitism, conflated with support for hamas and terror. and we have seen that with the attacks on the members of congress, let congresswoman ramirez who have dared to do something like call for a cease-fire. despicable in which use by members of congress against her own colleagues -- language used by members of congress against their own colleagues.

amy: earlier this month, you tweeted -- "reminder: 6 months before israeli election that made kahanists arguably most powerful political force in israel, the biden admin decided to do its part in normalizing kahanism by removing kahanist groups from u.s. list of foreign terrorist organizations, where they'd been listed for decades." for those who don't understand who they are, explain the significance of this tweet. close many books have been written. the basic philosophy is follow the land of israel and that extends far beyond the current borders, belongs to the jews because it was given to the jews by god. you have to give him credit for honesty come he maker this was -- this is not a conflict that

was going to be resolved in a way that would address everybody's rights or needs, that this was going to be a war and the arabs were going to have to lose and admit removing arabs. he was very clear. the row is openly racist, openly islamaphobic, almost proudly so. suggested people who think their other solutions are naïve. that strand of thinking was much i would say maligned and disrespected for a very long time. the communist party was outlawed in israel as a racist party. kahanisy was essentially assassinated. the mainstreaming of his worldview in israel and i was say in the united states among many supporters of israel, the financing for his work and thoughts in the united states still to the point where today

you have very powerful people in the israeli government, very powerful political strands in israel which are largely identical, whose views are largely identical to the kahanists. the fact the biden administration elected to remove the kahanist party from the terrorist list -- they were on the list because of accept terror committed against american citizens, not recent years, but -- i don't know why they chose that moment to remove them but it certainly speaks to the mainstreaming and normalizing of this approach to the palestinians. amy: lara friedman, can you talk about the hostage negotiations? yeah cutter and egypt involved -- qatar and egypt involved. you have the hostage families who are a powerful force.

we hear the stories repeatedly in the u.s. media. they should be a model for the coverage there should be a palestinian sufferings but those families are calling for this exchange of the hostages. i believe there are more than 200 being held by hamas and other groups in gaza. and palestinian political prisoners. of which i think there are more than 6600. i think they're calling it everybody for everybody. can you talk about this? >> yeah, look, the taking of hostages, the taking of civilian hostages by hamas, i mean, the october 7 attack was heinous in every aspect. the aspect of taking hostages brought this home to israelis in way i don't think anyone who has

not spent time in a small country where everyone is one degree of separation -- this is incredibly real, incredibly personal for everyone in israel. what is notable is in past experiences where there have been hostages taken, israel has sort of turned over every rock possible, done everything possible to get them back. negotiations, think of gilead shalit. in this context, after october 7, the issue of hostages is raised constantly by the israeli government as a reason for why it has to do what it is doing and gaza, not with the fact that carpet bombing gaza using deep penetrating bombs that are trying to get at the tunnels, seems like a likely way to kill your own hostages.

there has been a clear signal given -- if you look at the israeli media, the contact family members have had with the netanyahu government, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that there isn't actually a lot of desire on the part of the israel i government to get the hostages back. it has been public from other governments, from negotiators, there have been numerous offers by hamas to exchange hostages, to release hostages in certain circumstances. and so far, the argument seems to be from the israeli side, we won't do that because anything we do would be a victory for hamas and we can't let that happen, so releasing the hostages is not a priority. but talking about the hostages and accusing anyone who talks about cease-fire as not caring about the hostages is a wonderful tactic.

all of us who are speaking out on this on social media, media like this, are accused constantly of what, you don't cover the hostages? the answer is i care very much about the hostages. i don't understand why the is it -- the israeli government doesn't care more about the hostages. i was suggest their approach next clear their objective in this war are not about freeing the hostages and i think that requires further thought. amy: delia ramirez, --lara friedman, thank you for being with us, president fetish on the middle east for peace. and congress member delia ramirez is a democratic congress woman of chicago. coming up, we will speak with a doctor in cairo who is been trying for two weeks to get back into gaza. stay with us.

♪♪ [music break] amy: "from here" by akram abdulfattah. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as israel intensifies its ground invasion and aerial bombardment of gaza, concern is growing israel may soon bomb the al quds hospital, the second-largest in gaza city. israel has sort of the hospital

to be evacuated by dr. say they have no way to move critically ill patients. the world health organization director-general tedros adhanom ghebreyesus said -- "we reiterate, it's impossible to evacuate hospitals full of patients without endangering their lives." this is nebal farsakh of the palestinian red crescent. >> we have over 400 patients who are inside the hospital. many of them are in the intensive care unit. evacuating them means killing them. that is why we refuse the evacuation order. we call on the international community to intervene immediately to stop a humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding. amy: sunday night, we reached dr. fadel naim. >> they want about 24 hospitals

to evacuate. [indiscernible] we have about 3000 people. we have 400 patients. [indiscernible] amy: that is dr. fadel naim. we are joined now by dr. mads gilbert a norwegian physician , specializing in anesthesiology and emergency medicine. dr. gilbert has been working with the palestinians since 1981 and has been in gaza there

during 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2014. he's delivered life-saving trauma care emergency medicine, mainly in the largest hospital, al shifa hospital, but also in al quds. dr. gilbert is currently with an emergency medical team from norwac supported by the norwegian government in cairo, egypt where they have waited for over two weeks to enter gaza. dr. gilbert is the author of several books on gaza, including "eyes in gaza" and "night in gaza." welcome back to democracy now! let's talk about this israeli order that al quds hospital must be evacuated immediately and the world health organization saying, you're asking our doctors and staff to choose their own lives over there patient's lives who can't be moved. can you respond to this? >> yes, i can, amy. first of all, it is completely absurd we in 2023 should have a

state barbie that is threatening to bomb hospital and is bombing hospitals and killing children by the thousands in what is called a war. these threats to the palestinian civilian hospitals in gaza is extremely serious, not only because it is illegal according to international law, but it is threatening the lives of thousands of patients, of staff, and not to forget the 12,000 refugees who have taken refuge in al quds hospital and the more than 50,000 that have taken refugee in the al-shifa hospital. so these hospitals are not only clinical entities doing treatment, these are cornerstones of the social fabric that remains in gaza because most other fabric has been bombed away. i talked to my colleagues both in al-shifa and al quds this morning. my colleagues in al quds

hospital i know very well. they report continuous bombing raid close to the hospital and they can see fires. also during the nights, there's been heavy bombardment of the turkish hospital which is a little further south and which is the central cancer hospital of gaza. for al-shifa hospital, there are also threats. don't forget, before they bombed theal-alhi hospital, there were threats. there is an urgency among my colleagues, doctors, nurses and these two large hospitals that indeed the israeli army will execute the threats of bombing the hospitals but they stay put. in that capacity as health workers, to me, they are moral compasses and lighthouses of hope today in a very, very dark

area of our history. amy: you have work in al-shifa, the largest hospital in gaza. the israeli military says that is where the hamas command and control is. can you respond? >> i would ask president netanyahu to put on the table the proof in the evidence that there is a control and command center for the palestinian resistance in al-shifa hospital. we have heard these claims since 2009. we have twice been threatened to leave al-shifa hospital in 2009 and 2014 because the israelis were going to bomb it because it was a command center. i have been working in al-shifa for 16 years on and off. i have been able to walk freely around. i take lots of pictures.

i video. i have been sleeping at the hospital. i have never been restricted. no one has ever controlled my documentation material. so if there is a command center, show us. you have pictures and x-ray films of all gaza, the tunnels come everything. so why do you think these 16 years of threats that al-shifa is a command center has not been given any evidence at all that --? if it were a command center, i would not work there because i obey to the geneva convention. number two, if the israelis claim this is a mixed military civilian target, because obviously it is civilian with tens of thousands of people gathering their and 2000 patients being treated, if it is a mixed military-civilian target, the civilians take priority over the military.

in ordination with the geneva convention -- to me this is all part of this immense intimidation of the palestinian people in gaza. they are threatened with leaflets from planes and helicopters. they are threatened by phone calls. they are threatened by if you stay in gaza, we defined as a terrorist. what is this, 2023? 2.2 million people, civilians, unarmed people being killed, a child killed every 10 minutes -- so far the number killed today is 3324 children. 5300 palestinian children killed in three weeks. i ask president biden, what kind of president are you? do you have children?

do you accept that your supported israeli army is killing by the thousands, children? for heaven sake, let's have a cease-fire. let's lift the siege of gaza. let's let in supplies and international teams to work. my colleagues are overburdened. they have worked night and day for three weeks now. this has to stop. i don't need to use the word "genocide," it is enough to say mass murder civilians. it has to stop. there is no medical effort -- john amy: we just have 20 seconds. why are you trying so hard as israel threatens to bomb hospitals to get into gaza and work in a hospital? >> to show concrete solidarity with the palestinian people. that is our strongest tool now. all over the world we need to stand up and say we don't accept this, we need to show solidarity.

my solidarity as a medical dr. vegas to go to gaza, stand shoulder to shoulder, do the work together with my colleagues and try to be a decent human person. amy: dr. mads gilbert, we will try to do part two and post it on democracynow.org.

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