by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow
September 08, 2025
Israeli Military Blows Up Three High-Rise Residential Buildings in Gaza City
The Israeli military has blown up at least three high-rise residential buildings in Gaza City as Israel expands its operation to destroy the entire city and forcibly evict the city’s population of over 1 million residents. Many of the demolitions are being carried out by robots that place explosives inside homes. Israel has killed 32 Palestinians so far today. Officials say another 83 were killed over a 24-hour period ending on Sunday. Residents of Gaza City say there is no safe place to go.
Ibtasim Muqdad: “In regard to displacement, we were displaced before to the south. There were also martyrs there and bombardment. Wherever we went, there were bombardments, from one area to another, from Rafah to Khan Younis, from Khan Younis to Deir al-Balah. There were bombardments everywhere. We later came here. It is all the same. All displacement is for nothing. It is enough.”
Save the Children: Israel Has Killed on Average a Child Every Hour for Past 23 Months
Sep 08, 2025
Save the Children reports that Israel has killed more than 20,000 Palestinian children over the past 23 months — this means at least one Palestinian child has been killed every hour on average by Israeli forces. The group said, “If the international community does not step up, an entire generation of children in Gaza will be lost.”
Meanwhile, another six Palestinians have died from “famine and malnutrition,” bringing the total to almost 400, including 140 children, who have starved to death.
Six People Killed in Shooting in Occupied East Jerusalem
Sep 08, 2025
In Israel, an attack on a bus stop in occupied East Jerusalem has left six people dead and as many as 15 injured. At least one of the victims was a rabbi. Israeli authorities say they believe the attack was carried out by two Palestinians from the West Bank. Police said the attackers were both shot dead.
In other news from Israel, the country’s Supreme Court has ruled the government has failed to provide adequate food for Palestinians held in Israeli jails. The court ruled Israel must provide prisoners “a basic level of existence.” The ruling came in response to a petition filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and the Israeli rights group Gisha.
Nearly 900 Arrested at Palestine Action Protest in the U.K.
Sep 08, 2025
In London, police arrested nearly 900 people Saturday at a protest against the U.K. government banning the group Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act. It is now illegal for anyone in Britain to show support for Palestine Action. Protests against the ban have been mounting for weeks.
Tamara Abood: “Ordinary people who have never been on protests in their lives are, you know, reckoning with their conscience. They’re thinking, 'I cannot keep sitting, day in, day out, and on my sofa watching this abject horror and do nothing.' And so, the extraordinary thing is, you know, the images, the most powerful images we’re seeing, are of, you know, disabled, middle-aged, elderly white people being carted off by the police for the crime of saying, 'Stop killing children.'”
In other protest news, organizers say over 110,000 people took to the streets of Brussels on Sunday in a major pro-Palestine rally that came days after the Belgian government announced it would soon recognize a Palestinian state and impose sanctions on Israel.
Thousands Greet Gaza Protest Flotilla in Tunisia
Sep 08, 2025
In Tunisia, thousands of people gathered Sunday to welcome boats carrying about 350 activists who are sailing to Gaza in an attempt to break the siege. Passengers on the flotilla include Nelson Mandela’s grandson, the South African MP Mandla Mandela.
Mandla Mandela: “Coming all the way from South Africa to participate in this is really a joy to once again be able to set sail and go and break the blockade in Gaza and end the siege, which has been going on for the past 18 years. And we hope that it will be received as such, because we are a peaceful people. We pose no threat. We are carrying humanitarian aid for our brothers and sisters.”
“Chipocalypse Now”: Trump Threatens Again to Send Troops to Chicago
Sep 08, 2025
Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump2d
'I love the smell of deportations in the morning...'
Chicago about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR
On Saturday, President Trump threatened to send National Guard troops and ICE agents to Chicago, writing on social media, “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR” — a reference to his order to change the name of the Department of Defense. Trump accompanied the message with an AI-generated image depicting himself as Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore from the Vietnam War film “Apocalypse Now,” in front of the Chicago skyline with helicopters, flames and the phrase “Chipocalypse Now.” He also wrote, “I love the smell of deportations in the morning”–a reference to one of the most famous lines in the film: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning”
In response, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker called the president a “wannabe dictator.” By Sunday, President Trump walked back his comments, telling reporters, “We’re not going to war. We’re going to clean up our cities.” Meanwhile, thousands of Chicagoans took to the streets on Saturday to protest Trump’s plans to send ICE agents and federal troops to the city.
David Álvarez: “National Guard and sending ICE agents here to our community is a direct threat to not only us, but our community. It is us. It is our neighbors and our friends. It affects everyone. Businesses have been dropping. Restaurants have been dropping. Everything has — people have been scared.”
Over the weekend, the Department of Homeland Security announced it was launching new immigration raids in the Boston area. This comes after Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has repeatedly criticized Trump’s attacks on Boston and other sanctuary cities.
Thousands March in Washington, D.C., Against Trump’s Deployment of National Guard Troops
Sep 08, 2025
In Washington, D.C., thousands marched in the largest demonstration yet there against President Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops and the federal takeover of the district’s police force. The “We Are All D.C.” march was organized by a coalition of groups which include Free DC and the American Civil Liberties Union. The Trump administration is set to extend the deployment of National Guard troops in D.C. to December. Meanwhile, officials have dismantled part of a peace vigil outside the White House that had been running for more than four decades, under Trump’s orders to clear homeless encampments. Authorities reportedly mislabeled the vigil as a shelter.
Meanwhile, here in New York on Sunday, Trump was loudly booed by the crowd as he attended the U.S. Open men’s final. The United States Tennis Association had sent a memo to broadcasters, asking them to censor the crowd’s reaction to Trump.
South Korea Negotiates Release of Its Citizens Detained in ICE Raid at Hyundai Plant
Sep 08, 2025
South Korea announced that it is sending a charter plane to the U.S. to bring back more than 300 of its citizens who were rounded up and detained by ICE at a Hyundai plant in Georgia. ICE officials arrested nearly 500 people, most of them South Korean nationals, on Thursday at the Hyundai-LG battery plant. Footage of the raid showed workers shackled in handcuffs and ankle chains and loaded onto buses. ICE officials have called it the largest enforcement operation in the agency’s history. South Korea’s foreign minister is expected to arrive in Washington today to discuss the release of the workers. The ICE raid comes as South Korea recently agreed to invest $350 billion in the U.S. in exchange for lower tariffs.
Trump Admin Threatens to Send Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Eswatini
Sep 08, 2025
In other immigration news, the Trump administration is threatening to send Maryland father Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the small African nation of Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, after he expressed fear of being deported to Uganda. Abrego Garcia, who is seeking asylum in the United States, first made headlines in March when he was wrongfully deported to El Salvador, where he was held in the notorious CECOT mega-prison.
Federal Immigration Board Rules Millions of Undocumented Immigrants Ineligible for Bond Hearings
Sep 08, 2025
On Friday, a federal immigration board at the Justice Department ruled that undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. are not eligible to be released on bond. According to the ruling, immigrants could be detained “for the duration of their proceedings,” which could take years. Lawyers say the ruling would mean that millions of immigrants could be subject to mandatory detention, including longtime residents. One former immigration judge, Dana Leigh Marks, told Politico, “It’s a total cynical move to try to force people to litigate their cases while they’re detained.”
Russia Launches Largest Drone Strike Against Ukraine, Hitting Government Building
Sep 08, 2025
On Sunday, Russia launched the largest drone assault against Ukraine since 2022, attacking the main government building in Kyiv for the first time. At least four people were killed in Russian strikes all over the country, including a mother and her baby. Ukraine also launched airstrikes against Russia, killing three people. Speaking to reporters, President Trump said he was ready to impose a second round of sanctions against Russia, but gave no additional details.
Trump Admin Orders Deployment of F-35 Fighter Jets to Puerto Rico
Sep 08, 2025
The Trump administration has ordered the deployment of 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico as the U.S. threatens to carry out more strikes in Latin America under the guise of the war on drugs. Last week, the U.S. bombed a boat, killing 11 people, off the coast of Venezuela. The Marines and Navy have also been carrying out military exercises in Puerto Rico, including amphibious landing exercises.
This comes as CNN is reporting that Trump is considering carrying out strikes against drug cartels inside Venezuela. On Friday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro warned the U.S. against taking any more military action.
President Nicolás Maduro: “The government of the United States should abandon its plan of violent regime change in Venezuela and in all of Latin America and the Caribbean, and respect sovereignty, the right to peace, to independence.”
Over the weekend, Vice President JD Vance dismissed accusations that the recent attack on the Venezuelan boat may have been a war crime if civilians were on board. Vance wrote on X, “I don’t give a shit what you call it.” Republican Senator Rand Paul criticized Vance’s comment, saying, “What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.”
NYT: U.S. Navy SEALs Killed Civilians in Botched 2019 North Korean Raid
Sep 08, 2025
The New York Times has revealed that U.S. Navy SEALs took part in a failed top-secret mission to install eavesdropping technology in North Korea in 2019. The mission was aborted when the SEALs were spotted by a boat near the North Korean coast. The SEALs opened fire on the boat, killing everyone on board — believed to be two or three North Korean civilians who were diving for shellfish. The Trump administration never notified key members of Congress about the top-secret mission.
U.S. Added Just 22,000 Jobs in August
Sep 08, 2025
In economic news, new figures from the Labor Department show just 22,000 jobs were created in August — far lower than expected. The overall unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.3%. The Black unemployment rate jumped to 7.5% — its highest level in almost four years.
Bernie Sanders Campaigns with Zohran Mamdani in NYC
Sep 08, 2025
Senator Bernie Sanders brought his Fighting Oligarchy tour to Brooklyn College in New York on Saturday, where he campaigned with New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Sanders praised Mamdani’s vision for New York.
Sen. Bernie Sanders: “And what Zohran’s campaign is about is an understanding that today we are living in an unprecedented moment in the modern history of our country, and we have got to fight back in an unprecedented way.”
The Sanders-Mamdani rally comes as President Donald Trump is attempting to push New York Mayor Eric Adams to drop out of the mayor race in an attempt to help boost Andrew Cuomo. The Trump administration has reportedly considered making Adams the ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Civil Rights Activist Joseph McNeil, 83, Dies; Took Part in Greensboro Sit-in in 1960
Sep 08, 2025
The civil rights activist Joseph McNeil has died at the age of 83. In 1960, he and three other North Carolina A&T State University students launched a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro; they refused to leave the whites-only lunch counter after being denied service. Their action inspired a nationwide wave of sit-ins aimed at desegregating businesses and public spaces.
Acclaimed Psychiatrist and Author Robert Jay Lifton Dead at 99
Sep 08, 2025
The acclaimed psychiatrist and author Robert Jay Lifton has died at the age of 99. He was the author of more than 20 books about the effects of nuclear war, terrorism and genocide. In 1967, Robert Jay Lifton won a National Book Award for his work, “Death in Life: Survivors of Hiroshima.” In 1986, he published the seminal book, “The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide.” He appeared on Democracy Now! several times, including in 2017, when he talked about Donald Trump.
Robert Jay Lifton: “Well, I wrote a letter, together with Judith Herman, to The New York Times, in which we raised two issues. One was his relation to reality, which is, I would say, solipsistic and untenable and very dangerous to everyone.”
Amy Goodman: “What do you mean, 'solipsistic'?”
Robert Jay Lifton: “Solipsistic, from within the self. In other words, he only sees the world from within his sense of self. He can’t have empathy for others. He can’t really think into the future the consequences of his actions, because he’s totally preoccupied with the immediate event and how he can deal with it or manipulate it as emerging through the perception on the part of his sense of self.”
Click here to see all our interviews with Dr. Robert Jay Lifton.
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ICE Conducts Largest-Ever Raid at Georgia Hyundai Plant: 475 Arrested, Mostly Korean
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow
September 08, 2025
We get an update on the largest-ever single-site immigration raid in U.S. history that unfolded Thursday when federal agents arrested nearly 500 workers at a Hyundai facility in Georgia. Most workers were Korean nationals who were building an electric vehicle battery plant. Hyundai is investing over $12 billion in a record-setting economic development deal with the state, and the South Korean government recently agreed to invest hundreds of billions more in the U.S. in exchange for lower tariffs. The two countries’ relationship is now uncertain, as South Korean politicians lambasted the raid and sent a charter plane to repatriate the Korean workers who are being detained at a GEO Group-run Georgia ICE jail that ICE recently found in violation of federal safety standards. None of the detained workers have been charged; many reportedly hold valid U.S. work permits.
“The circumstances of the raid were just absolutely abusive, not only in their scope and just the sheer size of it, but the way that the folks at the Hyundai plant were treated by law enforcement,” says Meredyth Yoon of the Atlanta chapter of the civil rights organization Asian Americans Advancing Justice. Witnesses describe heavily armed federal agents who threatened and even tear-gassed workers. “It is disturbing to see hundreds of people arrested, shackled at their waist and ankles, and loaded into buses and taken to an abusive detention center.”
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show with President Trump’s growing nationwide immigration crackdown as agents arrested dozens in and around Boston this weekend and Trump’s threatening more actions in Chicago and other so-called sanctuary cities this week. But in Georgia last Thursday, federal officials say they carried out the single-largest single-site immigration enforcement action in history when they conducted an immigration raid on the construction site of a new electric vehicle battery plant. The facility is a joint venture by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solutions. Some 300 of the 475 arrested are Korean.
This is DHS Secretary Tom Homan on CNN.
DHS SECRETARY TOM HOMAN: We’re going to do more worksite enforcement operations, because, number one, it’s a crime to enter this country illegally; number two, it’s a crime to knowingly hire an illegal alien. And these companies that hire illegal aliens, they undercut their competition that’s paying U.S. citizen salaries. Look, no one hires an illegal alien on the goodness of their heart. They hire them because they can work them harder, pay them less, undercut the competition that hires U.S. citizen employees. They drive wages down.
AMY GOODMAN: Over 500 federal, state and local officials participated in the raid. The agencies involved included not just ICE and Border Patrol, but also the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, the IRS and the Georgia State Patrol.
The construction site that was raided is in Ellabell, Georgia, near Savannah, is part of Hyundai’s massive 3,000-acre Metaplant campus. State officials say the $12.6 billion project is the largest economic development deal in Georgia’s history. Hyundai also has a factory in Alabama and plans to invest $5 billion in a steel plant in Louisiana.
This comes as South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung promised at least $50 billion of investments during his recent meeting with President Trump. The South Korean government is now sending a charter plane to pick up the hundreds of Korean workers after they negotiated their release. This is Kang Hun-sik, chief of staff to the president of South Korea.
KANG HUN-SIK: [translated] As a result of swift and united efforts by government ministries, business groups and companies, talks with the United States for the release of the detained workers have been concluded. But what remains now are only administrative procedures. And once those are completed, a chartered plane will depart to bring our people home. … To prevent a similar incident in the future, we will work with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and related companies to review and improve the residency status and visa systems for travelers on U.S.-related projects.
AMY GOODMAN: For more, we go to Savannah, Georgia, where we’re joined by Meredyth Yoon, litigation director for Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta. Yoon is a daughter and granddaughter of Korean immigrants.
Welcome to Democracy Now!, Meredyth. It’s great to have you with us. If you can explain just what unfolded last Thursday?
MEREDYTH YOON: Thanks so much, Amy.
So, the raid at the Hyundai mega-site began around 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning last Thursday and lasted the entire day, into the evening as late as 6:30 p.m. Approximately 475 people were detained, filling at least seven buses. The nationalities of those detained were mostly from South Korea, but individuals from Guatemala, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador and Venezuela also were detained. There are reports that some U.S. citizens, mostly younger workers, initially were subjected to investigatory detention. Some of them were released, and many of those detained had valid work permits. So far, everyone who the folks on the ground have been tracking has some kind of documentation.
AMY GOODMAN: Any kind of indication that this was about to go down? I mean, this is historic, the largest single-site raid in the agency’s history.
MEREDYTH YOON: That’s right. And from what we’re hearing, the circumstances of the raid were just absolutely abusive, not only in their scope and just the sheer size of it, but the way that those — the folks at the Hyundai plant were treated by law enforcement. Phones were taken from workers. People were pressured to sign papers. There are reports that tear gas was used and that agents on site were heavily armed. There were helicopters, drones, ATV and other military-style vehicles that were there at the site. And from what we heard, ICE was blocking the exits from the facility, threatening force if workers did not surrender.
AMY GOODMAN: So, can you, then, talk about what happened to the detained employees, where were they sent, and the timing of this, after the deals the U.S. is making with South Korea?
MEREDYTH YOON: The majority of the workers who were detained on Thursday were taken to the Folkston ICE Processing Center, which is an ICE detention center in south Georgia near the Florida line. It has been operating as an ICE detention center since approximately — well, since 2017, but has existed as some sort of correctional facility since 1998. The facility has had repeated, repeated reports of abusive conditions, including medical neglect, lack of information about people’s cases, as well as horrible conditions at the facility itself. In 2022, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General did an investigation of the facility and found multiple deficiencies and that the human rights of those being detained there were being violated. Those conditions continue into current times as to what people are facing.
With respect to the timing of this enforcement action, it’s incredibly — it’s just incredibly concerning to see, as people like Governor Kemp are trying to, you know, supposedly reach out to South Korean companies to develop the economy in south Georgia, that that has been a big part of what’s been publicly discussed. And then you see federal law enforcement, in conjunction with state law enforcement, including the Department of Public Safety and the Georgia State Patrol, participating together in this — in this investigation is just incredibly concerning.
AMY GOODMAN: We played a clip of the border czar, Tom Homan, talking about going after these workers because they’re taking Americans’ jobs. He continually refers to “illegal aliens.” He talks about taking rapists and the worst murderers off the street. And he also talked about how it’s illegal to employ what he calls “illegal aliens.” Were the owners of the plant, were those who were involved in this — in this company, both Korean and American, arrested?
MEREDYTH YOON: So far, we have not heard any reports that there have been any arrests or criminal arrests that have been executed as a result of this raid. What we have heard is that everyone who has been, you know, civilly arrested by ICE has some sort of documentation, including valid work permits. We’ve heard reports of people who actually have pending asylum applications, as well as work permits, being arrested. So it’s unclear why those individuals were detained.
AMY GOODMAN: It’s interesting. A headline out this weekend, Trump is quietly preparing to travel next month to South Korea, where he could sit down with China’s leader, he and his top advisers quietly preparing to go there in October for the APEC summit, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. The significance of this, in preparation, and what it means for any company who Trump is trying to lure to the United States to set up business?
MEREDYTH YOON: It certainly is a disincentive to companies that want to invest in the United States. When you see large raids like this, that are clearly intended to get a lot of public attention and cause intimidation, it seems at cross-purposes with the supposed goal toward economic development.
AMY GOODMAN: Meredyth Yoon, you are the daughter and granddaughter of Korean immigrants. How has this affected the Korean community, with hundreds of people being detained and apparently deported soon, at once?
MEREDYTH YOON: The Korean community is deeply concerned and disturbed by these reports. It is disturbing to see hundreds of people arrested, shackled at their waist and ankles, and loaded into buses and taken to an abusive detention center. So, the Korean community is very concerned about the treatment of those who were arrested, as well as potential future raids that could impact the community.
AMY GOODMAN: Where do you head from here? Who is appealing to you at Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta? Is the community totally desperate at this point? And does this shut the plant down, having almost 500 people taken away?
MEREDYTH YOON: We have received many requests for assistance at my organization. Many local organizations that are on the ground providing immediate support in the aftermath have, as you can imagine, received many requests for help. There is a coordinated response, both — you know, who are supporting everyone detained, not only individuals from South Korea, but others, as well, with immediate needs after the raid — food, financial support, as well as assistance with connecting with legal help. So, those efforts are well coordinated and ongoing. And I’m sorry, the second part of your question?
AMY GOODMAN: The second part — well, we have to actually go, but I want to thank you very much for being with us. You’re holding a news conference today?
MEREDYTH YOON: Yes, we are, at 11:00.
AMY GOODMAN: Meredyth Yoon, litigation director for Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta. Yoon is the daughter and granddaughter of Korean immigrants.
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Report from Gaza: Aid Coordinator Describes Disease, Famine as Israel Blows Up Residential Towers
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow
September 08, 2025
“There’s no real safe zone in Gaza [City] and all of the Gaza Strip,” says Eyad Amawi, who joins us for an update from Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip as Israeli forces move deeper into Gaza City to forcibly evict 1 million residents. The local aid coordinator describes relentless bombardment, water shortages, infectious diseases and worsening famine. “All of these things must end now. As a human being, the most priority is the life of the civilians here.”
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.
We turn now to Gaza, where the Israeli military has blown up at least three high-rise residential buildings in Gaza City as Israel expands its operation to destroy the entire city and forcibly evict its population of over 1 million residents. Israel has killed 28 Palestinians so far today. Officials say another 83 were killed over a 24-hour period ending Sunday. Residents of Gaza City say there’s no safe place to go.
IBTASIM MUQDAD: [translated] In regard to displacement, we were displaced before to the south. There were also martyrs there and bombardment. Wherever we went, there were bombardments, from one area to another, from Rafah to Khan Younis, from Khan Younis to Deir al-Balah. There were bombardments everywhere. We later came here. It is all the same. All displacement is for nothing. It is enough.
AMY GOODMAN: This comes as Save the Children reports Israel has killed more than 20,000 Palestinian children over the past 23 months. This means at least one Palestinian child has been killed every hour, on average, by Israeli forces. The group said, quote, “If the international community does not step up, an entire generation of children in Gaza will be lost,” unquote. Meanwhile, another six Palestinians have died of starvation, bringing the total to almost 400, including 140 children, who have starved to death.
For more, we go to Deir al-Balah in Gaza to speak with Eyad Amawi, representative of the Gaza Relief Committee, coordinator for local NGOs based in central Gaza. He’s visited Gaza City regularly over the last several days.
Welcome back to Democracy Now!, Eyad. Can you just describe the scene as the Israeli military attempts to remove the entire population of Gaza City, 1 million people? The descriptions of the robots blowing up buildings are terrifying.
EYAD AMAWI: Yeah, thank you so much for hosting me again and again.
The situation here in Gaza town especially, within the last 48 hours, the situation is worsening, because the Israeli occupation announced targeting towers. I mean towers meaning a residential area that contains more than 100 apartments. You can imagine when they hit it, Soussi Towers, yesterday, more than 200 apartments with real residential people leave it, flee in the street without any basic needs, and the surrounding area completely destroyed from the bombardment. And this is a new techniques, dynamics from the occupation to force our people to be displaced without evacuation order, something like happened before. So, the situation by the bombardment for the landmarks of the Gaza, it’s the baddest situation now.
There’s no real safe zone in Gaza town and all of the Gaza Strip. As your guest mentioned before, no free spaces remains in the south. So, the Gaza town, or most of our peoples there, I witnessed, they forced to be displaced to the western part, to the coastal area, and also without tents or shelters or guarantee shelters also. And the shortage of the sweet water, it’s the basic things nowadays, because the summer heat and also spreading the infectious diseases between the children, especially, and the elderly people also, because the crowded area is unbearable conditions here.
AMY GOODMAN: Schools have been turned into displacement camps, Eyad. Now, schools were supposed to open this week after summer break. Are any children in Gaza going to school?
EYAD AMAWI: That’s a great question. There is no functioning schools remains functioning nowadays. Most of our schools is targeted, have been targeted for a long time. And me and all of the international media witnessed the direct targeting for the schools. The beginning of the educational year yesterday began, and really there is no educational process launched until this moment, just personal initiatives in the camps. They try to learn, some children, not all. So, there is no systematic operation functioning now, my colleague.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about hunger, and also right to your own family, Eyad Amawi? If you can talk about what one international agency is calling “catastrophic hunger” of half a million people? The whole population is 2 million. What exactly this means? And is aid getting to people, or are people still being shot down as they still — as they try to go get food from this shadowy Israeli-American GHF, so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation?
EYAD AMAWI: Yeah, look, the famine also is worsening more and more, even though the limited number of trucks entering the Gaza. Our needs is more than 600 daily needs, but what the Israeli occupation gave the permission just for 15 from our needs, 15 percentage of our needs. So, they use another way, with another dynamics, with a hidden manners, to manage the famine and to increase the suffering by blockade some special nutritious food, like animals proteins and eggs and fruits and vegetables. They’re just entering some limited amounts of food that keep us alive with a limited amount of carbohydrates. And this is a system of starvation and a collective punishment that will increase the immune diseases for the children and also elderly people. So, the famine is take another face, by another actions by we will — they will lose — we will lose our next generations because the consequences of continuing starving the children for more than 700 days.
So, all of our human appeals here to call the international community to do interventions, to let trucks entering freely, without Israeli occupation restrictions, because our children, we have no time to save their lives, after the 150 days of strongest siege over them.
AMY GOODMAN: And what about the role of the United States? How critical is this? You have Netanyahu continuing his corruption trial. Many are saying he’s continuing the war on Gaza to make it difficult to finish this trial. The significance of the U.S. pressure on Israel?
EYAD AMAWI: Yeah, we hope here, as humanitarian workers and NGOs coordinators at all, there is some real pressure over Netanyahu government and the Israeli occupation government. Without real pressure, the genocide here will not stop.
Look, we heard a lot of promises for a long time before to bring peace for Gaza. Until this moment, I heard the bombardment, and they headed an order, a new evacuation for new towers. Now, in this moment when I talk to you, they sent a new order for a new tower. So, we hope that the new talks and the statements of the official of the America to get more insist over Netanyahu to stop the genocide, because we have no time, I mentioned before. And also, Netanyahu government and the Israeli people there must deal with the Palestinian here in Gaza as civilians and increase the pressure over Netanyahu to stop the genocide and transfer the captives and the hostages. All of these things must end now. As a human being, the most priority is the life of the civilians here. It’s enough. Enough.
AMY GOODMAN: Eyad Amawi, I want to thank you for being with us, representative of Gaza Relief Committee, coordinator for local NGOs, based in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.
