Israel Kills 6 Int’l Aid Workers & Gazan Driver in Attack on Chef Andrés’s World Central Kitchen Convoyby Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
April 2, 2024
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/4/2/a ... transcriptIsrael is facing global condemnation after killing several international aid workers in Gaza. The workers with charity group World Central Kitchen were killed by an Israeli airstrike after unloading more than 100 tons of food aid carried by ship from Cyprus into Gaza. The charity staff, including three British nationals, an Australian, a Polish national and an American-Canadian dual citizen, and their Palestinian driver were struck while traveling in a clearly marked convoy branded with the charity’s logo. World Central Kitchen said the attack occurred after the workers left a warehouse in Deir al-Balah, even though the charity had coordinated in advance about the convoy with the Israeli military. “Every single humanitarian aid worker … is already recognized by the Israeli army,” says journalist Akram al-Satarri, reporting live from Rafah. “It’s the full responsibility of the Israeli government now to clarify and … demystify the circumstances that led to that catastrophic incident.” Al-Satarri also reports on Israel’s move to ban the outlet Al Jazeera and on his experience living in Gaza right now, where food and medical supplies are scarce under Israel’s strict blockade. “The famine is not looming. The famine is already taking place.”
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: The World Central Kitchen has suspended aid operations in Gaza after an Israeli airstrike killed six international workers from the charity and their Palestinian driver. The aid workers were struck after they left a warehouse in Deir al-Balah where it had unloaded more than 100 tons of food aid that they had brought into Gaza by ship from Cyprus to help avert a looming famine. The aid workers were driving in a clearly marked convoy branded with the charity’s logo. World Central Kitchen said the attack occurred even though the charity had coordinated in advance about the convoy with the Israeli military. The killed aid workers include three British nationals, an Australian, a Polish national and an American-Canadian dual citizen.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the attack.
PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE: We certainly have already contacted the Israeli government directly. We are contacting the Israeli ambassador to ask for accountability here. The truth is that this is beyond — beyond any reasonable circumstance, that someone going about providing aid and humanitarian assistance should lose their life. And there were four aid workers, as well as Palestinian driver, in this vehicle. This is a human tragedy that should never have occurred, that is completely unacceptable.
AMY GOODMAN: Earlier today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to acknowledge Israel carried out the attack, saying, quote, “Unfortunately over the last day there was a tragic incident of an unintended strike of our forces on innocent people in the Gaza Strip,” unquote.
The United Nations aid coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Jamie McGoldrick, said, quote, “This is not an isolated incident. As of [March 20], at least 196 humanitarians had been killed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since October 2023. This is nearly three times the death toll recorded in any single conflict in a year,” they said.
We begin today’s show in Rafah, Gaza, where we’re joined by the Gaza-based journalist Akram al-Satarri.
Akram, thanks so much for joining us again. What do you understand took place? Talk about Chef José Andrés’s charity workers who were killed, and their driver, what they were doing.
AKRAM AL-SATARRI: They were helping people. They were trying to secure the food aid for the people in Gaza, whom they were in touch with, whom they were eating with, whom they were in solidarity with, whom they were thinking. They deserved to be treated as humans, and they deserved to be safe, and they deserved to be secured. However, they themselves, the ones who were there extending the helping hand, ended up being killed by an Israeli attack, the circumstances of which are not clear yet, neither to the government of Israel, that apparently ordered the attack, no matter what the circumstances are, nor to the Palestinians who have been seeing at least foreigners there with them extending a helping hand and trying to secure a lifeline while their lives were taken by that Israeli attack.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Akram, how does this happen, when, reportedly, World Central Kitchen was coordinating its efforts and was informing the Israelis of where its aid workers were?
AKRAM AL-SATARRI: Well, this is the fact that shocked everyone. And as a matter of fact, many other international aid workers and some UNRWA workers also were affected by the ongoing bombardment. UNRWA made a specific statement about the number of UNRWA staff who were killed, which is around 166 UNRWA staff who were killed while they are on job, while they’re moving from their places to their duty stations and when they’re back from their duty stations to their homes or even when they are still conducting their job in their duty station, extending a helping hand to the people.
The coordinates are very well clear for the Israeli army. This is a protocol that has been followed ever since the war has started. Every single humanitarian aid worker that is extending a helping hand in Gaza, that is coordinating or helping or distributing food or doing anything, is already recognized by the Israeli army, and the incident took place. And I think it’s the full responsibility of the Israeli government now to clarify and to provide — to provide justification, and not in the sense that justification of the killing itself, but, rather, demystify the circumstances that led to that catastrophic incident, given that it is not unprecedented, a unprecedented event, where many others lost their lives because of the way Israeli army has been dealing with the general population in Gaza and with the facilities that are supposed to be protected.
As you have just said, the car was marked as a World Central Kitchen car. The staff who are there were already recognized by the Israeli army. And they are very well aware that they’re moving while the Israeli army is aware of their very movement. The coordinates of the warehouse that they were entering and leaving in Deir al-Balah is also well known for the Israelis. The place they were unloading the goods and the food items for the people of Gaza are also well known by the Israeli army. However, the incident took place. And I think it’s upon the Israeli government to explain to the world and to the different countries, including Canada, U.S.A., Poland and also — Poland and, I think, U.K., for how this happened and why this happened.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And has there been any improvement in the last week or two of supplies coming into Gaza, especially food and medical supplies?
AKRAM AL-SATARRI: Well, the food and medical supplies are still like very scarce in the Gaza Strip. The different U.N. figures have been voicing their concern over the fact that Israel is limiting all the supplies that are entering Gaza. Even more, Israel is being selective about what enters Gaza and what doesn’t enter Gaza. The Palestinian health system at large sustained a very big blow, a very big strike, when the Al-Shifa Hospital was totally destroyed. It lost 800 beds. It lost 100 dialysis machines. And it also lost one-third of the therapeutic services throughout the Gaza Strip. So, the situation is dire, and it continues to get even worse. And Israel is not willing or is not able to allow more food supplies and medical supplies into the Gaza Strip.
Not far away from us is Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah. The hospital is suffering because of the fact they have access to very limited supplies. And they have been calling for the international community, they have been calling for the world, they have been calling even for Israel, to allow unhindered access of the medical supplies and food supplies to help the people. They have a place for the people with dialysis, that need dialysis machines and whose people need — have some nutritional need, and those needs are not met. And if the situation continues the way it is, even the urgent and immediate medical needs of those people are not going to be met, which compromises their whole life.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to talk about this in the context of the looming famine, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians pushed to the brink of famine right now. AP is reporting Cyprus, which has played a key role in trying to establish a sea route to bring food into the territory, said ships that recently arrived were turning back with some 240 tons of undelivered aid. The World [Central] Kitchen, Chef José Andrés’s food charity, was the first to get massive amount of food into Gaza, and now we see what has happened to them. I’m wondering, Akram, are you hungry? Is your family hungry?
AKRAM AL-SATARRI: This is a very critical question. For you to understand, I am a Gazan. Gazan means I am living the very same circumstances that my people are living. Sometimes we — it’s Ramadan time, and sometimes we eat one meal a day. Sometimes the meal is not as decent as you imagine for someone who’s fasting for around 16 hours. This is the situation for most of the people in the Gaza.
But to make a difference, people in the south of Gaza are living a little bit better life than the ones who are living in the northern Gaza. The World Central Bank organized that trip with an intention of delivering the 200 tons of food that were delivered initially in the very first pilot trip to Gaza north and Gaza City, where 700,000 Palestinians are besieged and are denied any access whatsoever, except for very limited quantities since one month and a half up to this particular moment. Now the 1,000 tons that were allowed into — the 200 tons and the 1,000 tons were not allowed into Gaza north and Gaza City, where 700,000 people are waiting for the food.
The famine is not looming. The famine is already taking place. We have around 34 Palestinians, adult and young, who died from the starvation. We have many more people who are complaining about the significant loss of their weight. We have people and children who are eager to eat anything whatsoever. Anything whatsoever. People in the north ate the grass, ate whatever they can eat. They eat also the animal Feed. They are sorting it out. They’re cleaining it. They’re grinding it. They’re making bread out of it. And even when the taste and the smell is not what you expect as a human, they still have to eat it, because they don’t have any other option. That situation continues to be very dire, and that situation continues to deteriorate.
Now some people organized and formed some special committees for the sake of just receiving the food that is allowed, the minimum food that is allowed, from the road between Rafah, Khan Younis and Gaza, Salah al-Din Road, and those people ended up being targeted. Seventy of them were killed. And more than 500 Palestinians were killed in different incidents targeting the people around al-Kuwait Roundabout and al-Nabulsi Roundabout when they’re waiting for the food, when they’re waiting for to eat — 20 different incidents of targeting that took the life of 500 Palestinians and 70 of those who are working to organize everything. The way that is now done — the way that this targeting is done indicates that Israel is willing to deprive those people from any hope and any life whatsoever.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask you about the Israeli prime minister saying he will ban the award-winning TV network Al Jazeera, this after the Israeli lawmakers, the Knesset, passed a bill allowing for the temporary banning of foreign broadcasters deemed to be a national security threat. Of course, Al Jazeera is the most widely viewed network in the Arab world, one of the few outlets to have reporters inside Gaza, the way the Arab world sees what’s happening in Gaza, and, through Al Jazeera English, the way the rest of the world sees, as well. Your thoughts on what this means? I should also add a number of Al Jazeera reporters have been killed.
AKRAM AL-SATARRI: Yes, the issue is that even the Knesset gave that law the name of “Al Jazeera law,” Al Jazeera law, which means that this is an exclusive decision that has been taken for the sake of stopping Al Jazeera from covering, on the grounds of accusation that Al Jazeera is compromising and threatening the Israeli national security. Al Jazeera has reporters inside Palestine, in Gaza Strip, and inside the Israeli territory, and they have been covering the news about the situation.
And I think it is the way they have been doing things that provoked the Israeli Knesset members and the Israeli government, because, number one, the military ground is not — the military ground operation is not going the way they want it to go on, and it’s now the sixth month that they have been facing significant obstacles achieving what they have been achieved. They have warned the Palestinians of an imminent transfer into the Egyptian side. They have been conducting some of the incidents that were described as genocidal behavior by the experts. And some of the footage that was provided by Al Jazeera was used also by South Africa when South Africa was wording and filing and providing the evidences about the ongoing situation in Gaza Strip. And that’s why now Israel is defining Al Jazeera as an enemy and is trying also to chase any other news outlets that might be thinking of providing as comprehensive coverage as the one that Al Jazeera is providing and which is so recognized by the global community and by the people in Palestine and different areas of the Middle East.
So, they are trying to stop Al Jazeera, but I don’t think that they have the power. And when I say “the power,” because now we are shifting. When it comes to the media, we have the media of the citizen, we have the social media, and we have many different platforms. The performance that was conducted by Al Jazeera, I don’t think is going to be stopped by any plan that Israel develops. The only issue and problem for Israel is that now when they are developing and accepting that law, they are making themselves a mockery, because there is no way to stop any voice from saying what they think is right, as long as we have all the alternative media, we have the social media, and we have the citizens’ media. And I think they will continue doing what they can do from Gaza, and sometimes they would have alternative sources from inside Israel, and they will continue their message, and they will continue their mission.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Akram al-Satarri, we want to thank you for being with us, speaking to us from Rafah in Gaza.
And we have this latest news from the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. It’s just reported new details about the deadly strike on Chef Andrés’s World Central Kitchen aid workers. The newspaper writes, quote, “At some point, when the convoy was driving along the approved route, the war room of the unit responsible for security of the route ordered the drone operators to attack one of the cars with a missile. Some of the passengers were seen leaving the car after it was hit and switching to one of the other two cars. They continued to drive and even notified the people responsible that they were attacked, but, seconds later, another missile hit their car. The third car in the convoy approached, and the passengers began to transfer to it the wounded who had survived the second strike — in order to get them out of danger. But then a third missile struck them. All seven World Central Kitchen volunteers were killed in the strike.” That, again, Haaretz reporting the Israeli military ordered the drone strikes, mistakenly thinking a member of Hamas was part of the aid convoy.
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State Dept. Whistleblower: Biden Is Skirting U.S. Law by Rushing More Bombs & Warplanes to Israelby Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
April 2, 2024
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/4/2/b ... transcriptThe Washington Post reports the Biden administration has recently authorized the transfer of billions of dollars in bombs and fighter jets to Israel. The arms package includes more than 1,800 MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, which can be used to level entire city blocks. The U.S. is also sending 500 MK-82 500-pound bombs and 25 F-35 fighter jets. “It has been doing this on a weekly basis since the conflict began, just an open tab of arms,” says Josh Paul, former State Department official who worked on arms transfers before resigning in October to protest increasing arms sales to Israel. “These are the arms that Israel is using to kill not only thousands of civilians but hundreds of aid workers, as well.”
TranscriptThis is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
The deadly attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy comes as the Biden administration continues to send massive amounts of arms to Israel. Reuters is reporting the Biden administration is considering a new $18 billion arms package for Israel that would include dozens of F-15 fighter jets. This is in addition to the recent U.S. approval of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 500 500-pound bombs, as well as 25 F-35 fighter jets.
We’re joined now by Josh Paul, a veteran State Department official who worked on arms deals and resigned in protest of a push to increase arms sales to Israel amidst its siege on Gaza. He’s the former director of congressional and public affairs for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs in the State Department, where he worked for 11 years, now a nonresident fellow at DAWN — that’s Democracy for the Arab World Now.
Josh, thanks so much for joining us again. I mean, in light of what we are talking about right now, the World Central Kitchen suspending its operations in Gaza after their six workers and their Palestinian driver were hit by airstrikes, Israeli airstrikes, can you talk about this latest news — first The Washington Post exposed the sale of the F-35 fighter jets and other bombs, and now Reuters talking about additional weapon sales to Israel — what this means, how they’re used by Israel?
JOSH PAUL: Thank you for having me.
And perhaps I’ll start with that latter point, because I think this is important context. The strike on the World Central Kitchen comes on the same day that Israel wrapped up its operations in Al-Shifa Hospital, that has left the ground littered with decaying body parts, and nor is it by any means the first strike on humanitarian aid workers. In February, Israel murdered U.S. citizen Mousa Shawwa, logistics coordinator for the charity Anera. In November, it murdered three doctors from Médecins Sans Frontières, Doctors Without Borders. And in December, it murdered Reem Abu Lebdeh, who was a board member of MSF UK. And, of course, in February, after having given direct permission for an ambulance to retrieve 6-year-old Hind Rajab from the car, where she sat with the bodies of her dead parents, Israel struck that ambulance, killing the medics who were on their way to save her.
So, you know, this is a continuing pattern. And in that context, as you note, last week, the U.S. authorized the transfer of over 2,000 more bombs to Israel. This week, I anticipate it will authorize the transfer of a thousand more. It has been doing this on a weekly basis since the conflict began, just an open tap of arms. And these are the arms that Israel is using to kill not only thousands of civilians but hundreds of aid workers, as well.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Josh Paul, this use of U.S. weapons in this way by Israel, we’re talking about not only the killing of aid workers, but the attack on consular offices this week in Syria, of the diplomatic offices of Iran, and the banning of Al Jazeera. What does U.S. law say about how weapons can be used by states that receive them from the United States, when it comes to violations of human rights?
JOSH PAUL: Well, that’s a very good question. There are a variety of laws that should, in theory, apply here, ranging from the requirement that U.S.-provided arms be used in accordance with international law to more specific laws, that, for example, U.S. assistance cannot be provided to a country that is restricting the delivery of U.S.-funded humanitarian assistance. We have seen many examples of Israel restricting, if not striking, the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
So, I think these laws all need to be questioned — called into question, you know, and the important thing here is that that’s not what is happening. In fact, the Biden administration has on purpose not — in seeking legal opinions on whether the arms we are providing to Israel are being used in accordance with the law, it has also not been seeking assessments from the intelligence community of Israel’s actions using U.S. weapons. It is essentially sticking its fingers in its ears and, you know, covering its eyes and saying, you know, “We don’t know what’s going on.” It is making a purposeful decision to not know what is going on. And I have never seen anything like it in my time in government.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Is it even possible, when you’re dealing with 2,000-pound bombs, to talk about protecting civilian life, as Israel continues to do?
JOSH PAUL: Not in the context of a place like Gaza. This is an area, you know, the size of metro Cleveland, basically. And it has dropped thousands of these bombs in that space. It is impossible in that circumstance to talk about the principles of discrimination and proportionality that are central to the laws of armed conflict and international humanitarian law.
AMY GOODMAN: On Monday, journalists questioned U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller about the latest U.S. arms transfer to Israel.
HUMEYRA PAMUK: I understand the fulfilling can take years, but are you basically saying that the authorization of the transfer coming in these recent weeks was a coincidence?
MATTHEW MILLER: So, I’m not saying it’s a coincidence. Israel has been engaged in a military conflict. And, of course, when you are engaged in a military conflict, you deplete your military stocks, and you need to —
HUMEYRA PAMUK: So there was a request in recent weeks for the —
MATTHEW MILLER: And you need to see those — I’m not going to —
HUMEYRA PAMUK: — for the additional fulfilled — for the fulfillment of these particular —
MATTHEW MILLER: So, I’m not going to get into —
HUMEYRA PAMUK: — weapons.
MATTHEW MILLER: I’m not going to get — as is always the case, I’m not going to get into the timings of exact requests from here.
HUMEYRA PAMUK: OK. My final —
MATTHEW MILLER: Let me just — I’ll be quick. That’s a — but this is a process that we keep Congress fully apprised of, our relevant committees.
HUMEYRA PAMUK: OK.
MATTHEW MILLER: But when you see these types of requests and when they get publicly reported — and you have to remember that Israel is in an armed conflict and is expending a great deal of defense materiel, and some of that needs to be replenished for Israel’s long-term security.
HUMEYRA PAMUK: Right. And my final thing on this is, like, the secretary and a lot of senior officials from this administration basically said far too many Palestinians have been killed. But when you go and make the — and we know that the administration’s policy hasn’t changed: It is not conditioning weapons to Israel. But when you go and make such an authorization of the transfer in recent weeks, even if the actual weapons transfer has been approved years ago, don’t you think that is going to damage the weight of your word, your credibility, and basically your sincerity in saying that far too many Palestinians have been killed?
MATTHEW MILLER: So, I do not agree with that at all. We have been very clear that we want to see Israel do everything it can to minimize civilian casualties. We have made clear that they need to do every — that they need to operate at all times in full compliance with international humanitarian law. At the same time, we are committed to Israel’s right to self-defense. …
REPORTER: Just to follow up, a 2,000-pound bomb is self-defensive, in your opinion?
MATTHEW MILLER: It is a — it is a — so, they need to have the ability to defend themself against a very well-armed adversary, like I said, Iran, Hezbollah, which has thousands and thousands of fighters and quite sophisticated materiel and quite sophisticated weaponry, as we’ve seen them deploy — excuse me — against Israel in the last few days. So, yes, they do need the modern military equipment to defend themselves against those adversaries.
REPORTER: Yeah, but they’ve been those in Gaza before, beginning in Gaza.
MATTHEW MILLER: And we have made clear to them that when — that whatever — whatever weapon they use in Gaza, be it a bomb, be it a tank round, be it anything, that we expect them to use those weapons in full compliance with international humanitarian law. And we have said it — we have had very frank conversations with them about the fact that far too many civilians have died through their operations and that they need to do better in taking into account the need to minimize civilian harm. And we’ll continue to do that.
AMY GOODMAN: And this is State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller just last week.
MATTHEW MILLER: We have not found them to be in violation of international humanitarian law, either when it comes to the conduct of the war or when it comes to the provision of humanitarian assistance.
AMY GOODMAN: I assume, Josh Paul, that you know Matthew Miller well. You worked at the State Department for 11 years. Your response?
JOSH PAUL: So, I think there’s a lot to unpack there. Just going back to his last point, again, the point here is that they have not found Israel to not be in compliance with international law, because they have not asked their own lawyers whether that is the case or not. So, for as long as they do not ask the question, they do not get the answer that they do not want.
He also noted, and the reporter who was interviewing him noted, that, you know, this was a case formerly approved by Congress. This was a — for the F-35s. This was a case for F-35s approved by Congress in 2008. That was before the first Iron — Cast Lead, the first significant Israel-Hamas exchange of fire in 2009. And, you know, it comes now in the context of an immediate and ongoing conflict. So, the idea that you can take an authorization that Congress gave in a peacetime context, in a completely different context, and say that this gives us the approval to move forward with these arms transfers now in this new context is very questionable.
And, of course, you know, as was also noted, Israel is continuing to use these bombs — regardless of what Matt said, you know, that it may be able to use them against Hezbollah or against Iran, it is using them in Gaza. And by continuing to provide these arms at the rate that we are doing so, what we are essentially doing is letting Israel choose wherever it wishes to use them, rather than forcing it to make the hard choice of what is actually the threat for which it needs these weapons.
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Active-Duty U.S. Airman, Inspired by Aaron Bushnell, on Hunger Strike Outside White House over Gazaby Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
April 2, 2024
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/4/2/h ... transcriptDemocracy Now! speaks with an active-duty soldier in the U.S. Air Force on hunger strike to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Senior Airman Larry Hebert is on day three of his hunger strike outside the White House, where he has been holding a sign that reads “Active Duty Airman Refuses to Eat While Gaza Starves.” “It’s just completely wrong and immoral for civilians to be starved and bombed and targeted in any manner,” says Hebert. “I’m hoping that other active-duty members will be more public with their concern over the atrocities happening in Gaza.” Hebert was inspired by the actions of Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., in February to demand a Gaza ceasefire. “What really infuriated me was the silence thereafter. … I don’t know a single member of our government or leaders in the military that really spoke on Aaron, even uttered his name,” says Hebert, who is now looking to leave the military after learning more about U.S. foreign policy. “I can’t see myself continuing service.”
TranscriptThis is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
We turn now to an active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force who started a hunger strike Sunday outside the White House to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Senior Airman Larry Hebert has been been holding a sign that reads “Active Duty Airman Refuses to Eat While Gaza Starves.” He’s on day three of his hunger strike while on leave from his duty station in Spain. Larry says he was inspired in part by the actions of Aaron Bushnell, the 25-year-old active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., in February to demand a Gaza ceasefire. He died.
Senior Airman Larry Hebert joins us now from Washington, D.C., where he’s also hoping to meet with members of Congress. He’s a member of Veterans for Peace.
Larry, welcome to Democracy Now! Can you explain your hunger strike in front of the White House?
LARRY HEBERT: Yes. Thank you. And thank you for having me on, Ma’am. I appreciate it.
So, my hunger strike is obviously in solidarity with the civilians in Gaza. You know, it’s just completely wrong and immoral for civilians to be starved and bombed and targeted in any manner. So, that’s what the hunger strike is specifically for.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Larry, you took authorized leave from your assignment at your naval station in Spain to do this protest. How did you get the permission, and what’s been the response of your superiors?
LARRY HEBERT: Well, to take authorized leave, that’s earned just through, you know, continuing my service, so there’s no specifics on what I have to provide them as far as what I’ll be doing on leave, just that I am taking leave and where, roughly, I’m going.
AMY GOODMAN: Have you gotten response from them, given what you’re doing as you stand in front of the White House conducting your hunger strike?
LARRY HEBERT: I’ve had a couple members from my command reach out. And I expect to speak to my commander fairly soon, yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: You want to become a conscientious objector?
LARRY HEBERT: Yes. I mean, I think that’s one of the routes that can be taken. While that process is going, if my command wants to work with me and work out a deal where I’m in either a reassignment or possibly some sort of mutual discharge, I would accept that, as well.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And you’ve mentioned the tragedy of Aaron Bushnell and how that affected your outlook and decision. Could you talk about that a little more?
LARRY HEBERT: Yeah. So, what Aaron did was courageous and emotional for me. It really resonated, because what he was feeling was exactly how I was feeling. And obviously, I’m not going to that extent. I don’t think anyone needs to. I think what he did was unique and, you know, was effective.
But what really infuriated me was the silence thereafter his actions. I don’t know a single member of our government or leaders in the military that really spoke on Aaron, even uttered his name. But I had seen people in Yemen and in Gaza, you know, holding up his picture and sending their condolences. And I even saw the official statement from Hamas, who is a deliberate enemy of our military and our government. They issued an official statement sending their condolences to Aaron and his family. So, it really broadened my perspective to see, you know, even our adversaries speaking out and sending their condolences to our own military members.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you have a message, Larry, for other members of the military in the United States or other militaries around what’s going on right now in Gaza? And as you stand in front of the White House and hope to speak to congressmembers in Washington, D.C., what is your message?
LARRY HEBERT: I hope, firstly, that with Aaron’s actions and the members of the State Department that spoke out recently and myself, I’m hoping that other active-duty members will be more public with their concern over the atrocities happening in Gaza. It’s not even — it’s not even a political issue at this point. It’s civilian lives that are on the line, and they are being bombed, shot, raped and starved. There is a mass starving going on, and it’s unconscionable, and it shouldn’t be allowed. And it breaks international law, as well as our own laws.
And I don’t think — I know a lot of active-duty members may be afraid to speak out, but the truth is, is that the military is supposed to be — or at least in the U.S., is supposed to be held to the highest of standards. And what’s happening in Gaza is not the highest of standards. And people need to recognize that and be more public about it.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Larry, you talk about violations of federal law. Veterans for Peace, that you belong to, recently called on the U.S. inspector general to investigate illegal shipments of weapons to Israel. Could you talk about what those violations that you believe are?
LARRY HEBERT: Right. So, I haven’t gone into the logistics of the law itself. I’m not an expert matter on law. But, I mean, you can speak to the experts. Like, we just had on Democracy Now! the woman from the State Department who spoke out and referenced specific laws that were in breach. Veterans for Peace, who I just recently joined, they have the very specific details that they can issue and speak more on.
AMY GOODMAN: Finally, Larry, you were there in front of the White House as families went onto the White House lawn to engage in the egg hunt, the Easter egg hunt. They were reading your sign. You have two small children. Can you talk about, as we wrap up, why you joined the U.S. military?
LARRY HEBERT: Yeah. So, my reason for joining was I met a lot of veterans when I was working in Oklahoma. And I met retired marine — or, Marines, retired Air Force, retired Army. I met a lot of different backgrounds. And they all told me that joining the Air Force would set me up for life, through education, through housing, through, you know, just the basic pay. And while that was true, there is an element that I realize that I didn’t understand the entirety of, you know, our foreign policy. So, that was my reason for joining. And I don’t entirely regret my time in the military, but now that I’m more aware of our foreign policy and what’s going on, I definitely — I can’t see myself continuing service.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to thank you so much for being with us. I know this is one of the first TV interviews you’ve done, and you are on the third day of your hunger strike. Larry Hebert, active-duty Air Force senior airman, on hunger strike for a ceasefire in Gaza, member of Veterans for Peace, speaking to us from Washington, D.C.
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Israel “Risking a Two-Front War, Maybe a Three-Front War,” After Latest Strike Against Iran in Syriaby Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
April 2, 2024
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/4/2/i ... transcriptIran has vowed to retaliate after Israel bombed the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing at least seven people, including three senior Iranian commanders and at least four other Iranian officers. Among the dead is senior commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the highest-ranking Iranian military officer to be killed since the U.S. assassinated General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020. While Israel sees strikes on foreign soil as “part of their self-defense strategy,” Iran feels it must respond to this “breaching serious diplomatic norms,” says Akbar Shahid Ahmed, senior diplomatic correspondent for HuffPost, who reports the pace and audacity of Israel’s international attacks have escalated since October. “While Israel is receiving huge amounts of American support, while Gaza is suffering and Israel is pummeling that Strip, we now see them risking a two-front war, maybe a three-front war.”
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
Iran has vowed to retaliate after Israel bombed the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing at least seven people, including three senior Iranian commanders and at least four other Iranian officers. The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the death toll could be as high as 11. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in the al-Quds Force, is dead. He’s said to be the highest-ranking Iranian military officer to be killed since the U.S. assassinated General Qassem Soleimani under Trump in Baghdad in 2020.
Iran’s Ambassador to Syria Hossen Akbari condemned Israel for striking a diplomatic building. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, quote, “We will make them regretful about the crime and similar acts,” unquote. The Arab League condemned the strike and accused Israel of trying to, quote, “expand the war and push the region to chaos,” unquote. The New York Times described Monday’s attack as among the deadliest in a “yearslong shadow war between Israel and Iran.” The attack in Syria also came a day after Israel assassinated a Hezbollah leader in Lebanon.
We’re joined now by Akbar Shahid Ahmed, senior diplomatic correspondent for HuffPost.
Can you talk about the significance of this strike and who died, Akbar?
AKBAR SHAHID AHMED: Sure, Amy. So, Zahedi, the commander who was killed, was sort of the connective tissue between Iran and a lot of its proxies, specifically Hezbollah in Lebanon, but also folks he worked with in Syria. So this is someone extremely valuable, extremely important to Iran.
And part of the significance is not just who he is, it’s also where he was killed. Right? This is Israel choosing to target a diplomatic facility. Iran has now said that both Zahedi and other people who were targeted had diplomatic passports. So, from their point of view, this is Israel breaching serious diplomatic norms. And the anxiety today is that because Israel has chosen to go after such a senior high-profile person, there cannot not be a response — right? — either from Iran or from some of its allies. So, what does that look like? And what’s the spiral of violence and escalation we’re now on?
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Akbar, could you talk about this? It’s been decades now that Israel has used this policy of assassinations and often attacks in other countries on people that it determines to be immediate enemies of itself. How has the international community allowed this and basically turned away from looking at these consistent acts of what can only be called terror?
AKBAR SHAHID AHMED: So, Juan, the Israelis see this as part of their self-defense strategy, right? They do a very effective job of convincing lawmakers, U.S. officials, European officials, that they need to do this, or they’ll be at risk. What’s really different now, after October 7th, is the pace of these strikes and the audacity. Right? While Israel is receiving huge amounts of American support, while Gaza is suffering and Israel is pummeling that Strip, we now see them risking a two-front war, maybe a three-front war. And that’s where — yes, there’s a decades-old pattern of them doing this. That’s where we’re in a totally different, more dangerous phase right now. And I think while the U.S. has quietly sort of conveyed its message to Iran — “We don’t want this to escalate, we weren’t involved, we’re not responsible” — it’s really hard to avoid miscalculations on all sides. And again, from the Iranian point of view, they can’t let this go unresponded to.
AMY GOODMAN: And, Akbar, if you can talk about why you think this has happened right now, and what you think this means? We have response from all over. Ali Vaez, Iran analyst for the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera Israel may be pushing to expand the war in what would be a, quote, “win-win situation” for Israel. Why?
AKBAR SHAHID AHMED: Sure. So, this is so much about the political calculus of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And that’s very much the assessment not just here in Washington among a lot of U.S. officials who are really worried about where this is going. It’s also the assessment of a lot of Israelis — right? — that Netanyahu sees this as a moment to create a rally-around-the-flag effect. And timing wise, I think it’s important to remember, six months into their war on Gaza, they haven’t gotten the scalp that they wanted to, of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza. They haven’t brought home the hostages, the Israelis they wanted to bring home. So it’s a distraction — right? — for Netanyahu.
I think, in terms of the significance, too, we cannot help but think about the most horrifying aspect of this — right? — which is the N-word, the “nuclear” word. Because of President Donald Trump withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, which was working, Iran is now closer to developing a nuclear weapon than it ever has been before, right? That’s a Trump decision. Now, if Iran assesses they need to establish deterrence and confidence and send a signal to Israel, will they go down that path? And that’s where the U.S. starts to risk being involved, too.
So, what I’m hearing a lot from my sources across kind of U.S. government and intelligence is there’s a lot of alarm bells going off right now, saying the Israelis seem to want to suck us, as Americans, into a broader war, potentially in Lebanon, potentially with Iran. And what’s really striking is that the highest levels of the Biden administration, whether that’s the White House, the State Department, don’t seem yet to be managing those risks. There are quiet diplomatic channels, but there’s no guarantee. And what you have on the U.S. side is rhetoric, saying, “We don’t want to see a regional war,” but you don’t have actual action. Right? You don’t see the U.S. saying, “We won’t send Israel fighter jets, bombs, etc., etc., because of the risk of war.” And I think that’s what’s lacking right now.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And you mentioned the domestic problems that Netanyahu faces. As the protests, and massive protests, calling for his resignation grow, is it your sense that the extremism of the actions of the Netanyahu government will also grow, sort of as a means of deflecting — not distracting, but really deflecting — the opposition he faces internally?
AKBAR SHAHID AHMED: It’s a real risk, Juan. And I think there’s a few factors there, right? So, of course, Hezbollah, which is the Iran-backed militia in Lebanon, Hezbollah has indisputably hit Israelis, right? There is a lot of fear among Israelis, tens of thousands of whom have left northern Israel for fear of an October 7th-style attack by Hezbollah. So, Netanyahu can tap into that fear.
And the added layer of this is that there’s Netanyahu’s political survival, and then there’s the question of who comes after Netanyahu if he does fall. And at a moment where upwards of 70% of the Israeli public are in a sort of pro-war mood — right? — are still feeling under attack, into retaliation, there’s also a benefit for other politicians to seem hawkish, so that means Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who has kind of led the threats against Lebanon. It could also mean some of the candidates who the U.S. really has talked about as alternatives to Netanyahu, like Benny Gantz. There isn’t really an anti-hawkish narrative inside the Israeli body politic right now. There’s an anti-Netanyahu one. So the actual risk of war, I think, is only growing.
AMY GOODMAN: We want to thank you so much for being with us, Akbar Shahid Ahmed, senior diplomatic correspondent for HuffPost. We’ll link to your articles at democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.