The Philip DeFranco Show - The TwitchCon Problem is Scary & Bigger Than They Are Willing To Admit

Starting point is 00:00:00 Td Bank knows that running a small business is a journey, from startup to growing and managing your business. That's why they have a dedicated small business advice hub on their website to provide tips and insights on business banking to entrepreneurs. No matter the stage of business you're in, visit td.com slash small business advice to find out more or to match with a TD small business banking account manager. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show, your daily. into the news, it is Monday, and there is a lot to talk about starting with this. This Twitchcon's safety problem and scandal, it's blowing up right now, because you're seeing more and more top creators and streamers and their fans saying that TwitchCon is not safe and you shouldn't go. And a lot of that, it appears to be connected to what happened to Emirut, who's one of the platform's biggest stars over the weekend. Right in the video, you see this just massive dude walking up to her during a meet and greet and attempting to kiss her before being shoved off by security.

Starting point is 00:01:07 All of which, among other things, sparked a ton of questions about how this was even possible and whether Twitch was taking security seriously. Right on paper, they claim to be, especially because leading up to the event, figures like Pockeman, Asan Piker, Balcray, and Qudy Cinderella all claimed that they weren't going over safety concerns. And after that, you had Twitch CEO, Dan Clancy, bending over backwards to say that security would be beefed up at the event. And at the very least, you would think that would especially be the case for Emiru, who was, one of the only massive creators still going to the event. Right, and then with that, you had many saying it felt like it was only after the clip of the assault went viral that Twitch addressed it, saying in a tweet, the safety and security of all those attending TwitchCon is our highest priority.

Starting point is 00:01:41 The behavior displayed by the individual involved in the incident yesterday, involving a high-profile streamer was completely unacceptable and deeply upsetting. With them then, going on to say, we immediately blocked this individual from returning to the Twitchcon premises and they are banned indefinitely from Twitch, both online and in-person events. Right, and then on top of that, they changed the system to stop allowing people at official meet greets to bring a plus one. But then with that, what you quickly saw were people pushing back against Twitch's statement. Are you people pointing to the incident and the clip, noting that in the entire two-minute, 20-second version of the video, you can clearly see the attacker just walk away.

Starting point is 00:02:11 And also, probably the person to push back the most was Emiru herself. Right, not only did she tweet about it, she also went live to talk about the situation, how she feels Twitch failed completely and how parts of their statement are misleading at best. And so you had things like, according to her, it actually wasn't Twitch's security that stepped in to save Emiru, but her own private security. But also, it's not like Twitch's security wasn't around, that the guy had to pass three or four other checkpoints to even get close to Emmy Root. It's just that it appears that they stood around during the incident and afterwards. But also, you know, one of the first things that she does do is thank the person who posted the video. I don't think that Twitch would have put out an official statement if that clip wasn't posted and going viral.

Starting point is 00:02:49 And even after the fact that that clip was posted and going viral, I, as far as I know, the out of the, Other people who had meet and greets today were not reached out to to ask if they wanted extra security. You also had Emmy confirming a lot of the things that people were speculating about online, so for example. I was doing my meet and greet and I've seen people saying that it was an obligation given to me. Like to be a featured creator and to have my show, I had to do a meet and greet, which is true. I was told that I had to do a meet and greet. But as far as I know, there's some people that canceled, regardless, I didn't cancel. I thought it was going to be fine.

Starting point is 00:03:30 So, um, I show about four. I'm doing my meet and greet. Emmy also confirmed that Twitch actually did permaband her favorite security guard after he held onto a stalker until law enforcement came at a previous TwitchCon. Which was definitely something that shocked a lot of people because clearly, Emmy Rue needs security and just at a glance it looks like Twitch's response to her effective security was to ban them. And then also a big thing is that Emmy pushed back on the claim that Twitch quickly dealt with the guy. Because one, it was apparently her manager who called the police and talk with them.

Starting point is 00:03:56 Two, it apparently took hours for the guy. gotta be tracked down and three it took twitch two hours to approach emiru's team about the assault and my manager comes back to me and she's upset she's like okay uh i've been talking to twitch people and i'm really upset because i noticed a lot of negligence around the event and i'm not happy with the way that they're handling it now and i'm like what do you mean she's like well um i asked them you know like what are they going to do about this and you know you know what are they going to do about this and you know what they said initially they said oh well he's banned from the platform for 30 days what and then she's obviously like hello like that needs to be indefinite what the fuck are you

Starting point is 00:04:47 talking about also there's like nothing to do with anything no one does a fuck if he's banned on twitch or not like we're talking about the convention here so they they change it to indefinite. Takes takes an hour for that to happen by the way. These two people are, um, the head of security for Amazon and the head of risk for Twitch. Right. And with all this, you had Emiru spending a lot of time asking how smaller creators are supposed to feel safe during this if she can't. But she apparently spends tens of thousands on security for these events and clearly people with 50, 100, or even a thousand viewers, they can't do that. Even though really, it always just takes one person. They could be in just as much danger with crazy fans. You know, while you at her addressing this in a

Starting point is 00:05:23 In a live stream, I feel like another thing that should be noted. She apparently ended up only spending like a few minutes to calm down before finishing her meet and greet. And then she had to go live on stage for a show. That is not to say that this is even remotely normal. And she made it very clear that this was her last Twitchcon and she'd never be attending again and that she is definitely pressing charges against the guy. And so with all of that, as you'd expect, there have been a ton of reactions. And so you had things like Taylor Lorenz speaking to Twitch CEO, Dan Clancy and asking what Twitch was doing to prioritize safety. And he said, the safety of our creators is the top priority.

Starting point is 00:05:52 The challenge we face is a challenge in today's society. It's not limited to Twitch. It extends throughout our society. I do think that when you're live streaming, in many ways, since you control your community and you can ban people, you can make it so that those people that you don't want engaging with you and participating with you aren't there. Okay? It's very different. You know, when I use other short form content and people say all sorts of stuff, well, I can't stop that.

Starting point is 00:06:16 But when I live stream, they basically don't bother me. Now, what happened yesterday, obviously was something that we care deeply. about securing this environment, you know, we're looking very closely at everything that happened there, and I care deeply about Emmy. She's a friend of mine, and so I want to see how we can support her. Though that responds, it felt kind of anemic to most, and it kind of just reinforced statements from people like Moise Critical who have long avoided live events like this over safety concerns. Right. And now, after what happened, you had him saying, now as a result of the assault that Emiru experienced at their events, they are going to be

Starting point is 00:06:46 having a stronger security presence at further meet and greets that are scheduled, the question begs to be asked why wasn't that an emphasis beforehand you're saying that safety was like your top priority yet it's very clear very evident in this clip that there's not a lot of security there so what are you doing about like safety i don't understand if safety is such a high priority where's security why i don't know why it's so lackluster than if it's such a high priority and again this is like a huge streamer. Emmy Roo is like one of the biggest streamers. What does security look like for streamers that aren't her size? And you also had Charlie there adding that his apprehension about going to events, it stems from Christina Grimmie's death years ago and he, Emmy, and others have all pointed out how quickly this recent assault could have been much worse. Right among the many voices speaking out here, you had big creators like Asman Gold taking the opportunity to say that, you know, this is just another example of Twitch's failings. The moderation team at Twitch

Starting point is 00:07:48 is completely deranged, the advertising team is completely misguided, and the executive team is completely disconnected. At all levels of this organization, they fail. I think this is going to be the last Twitchcon, by the way. I cannot imagine anybody ever even thinking to go to another Twitchcon after this. With the man going on to point out that Emiru's experience, it's not an isolated event, and that every Twitchcon, you know, it has these horror stories of assaults and groping. And in fact, you had Emiru herself also mentioned

Starting point is 00:08:18 this and asking people to send her examples from this past weekend, since she's positive she wasn't the only one. Right, but with all that said, it just looks like Twitch has another PR nightmare on their hands. And so the big question for many is, you know, whether Amazon thinks any of this is worth changing leadership at the platform over. Because the general consensus is that the ball was majorly dropped at the event and that the promise to take security more seriously, it wasn't real. You know, for now we'll have to wait and see. And of course, in the meantime, I'd really love to know your thoughts, opinions, and reactions. But then next up, in the news today, we need to talk about Trump, Prince Andrew, and Epstein. Because it's actually a lot going around with and around the Epstein case.

Starting point is 00:08:51 And where we can start is with Donald Trump versus Representative Thomas Massey. Right? Massey, you know, he's a Republican known for bucking his own party on a few issues, especially with Epstein. And so on Friday, you had Trump calling him, quote, a sick wacko who refuses to vote for our great Republican Party, MAGA, or America first. It's really weird. With him then saying in another post that Massey must be thrown out of office, ASAP, and then endorsing a Navy SEAL veteran Ed Gal Ryan to take the seat.

Starting point is 00:09:13 Though that also is, Gow Ryan hasn't even entered the race yet. But still, you had Trump arguing that. Trump arguing that Massey has made life very easy for the radical left and added, unlike lightweight Massey, a total ineffective loser who has failed us so badly, Captain Ed Gal Ryan is a winner who will not let you down. Should he decide to challenge Massey, Captain Ed Gal Ryan as my complete and total endorsement. Run Ed, run, MAGA. And I'll add for a little extra background that Gal Ryan actually previously ran for State Senate in Kentucky back in 2024, though he narrowly lost the primer. And that as far as the here and now, you had Gal Ryan

Starting point is 00:09:42 responding to Trump's comment saying that he was honored by the support and would announce what's next for him soon. But Massey, I mean, he took the opportunity to slam the endorsement, calling Gal Ryan a failed candidate and establishment hack. And that energy, it definitely wasn't alone, right? Trump's post, it prompted tons of responses with most kind of noting that Massey is one of the few Republicans supporting or even leading the charge on getting the Epstein files released. Right. I mean, he filed a discharge petition that would force a floor vote on legislation requiring the files to be released. And with that, as we've talked about quite a bit recently, the representative elect in Arizona will be the last signature that he needs. So there you have Speaker Mike Johnson

Starting point is 00:10:13 holding that up. And so that, it's why many are seeing Trump's on Massey here as being connected again to Epstein, especially because this isn't even the first time that Trump's tried to take a shot at his seat. And so again, what Trump's doing, it didn't come as a surprise. And actually, Massey wrote this morning about the situation. Dogs don't bark at parked cars. There's a reason some of the world's richest and most powerful people are trying to get me out of Congress. I'm just one of 435 votes, but I bring transparency to an otherwise dark and corrupted institution of government. But that's also not where the Epstein news ends today, especially because more and more excerpts from Virginia Joufrey's upcoming memoir getting published ahead of the book's released tomorrow. Right, and there's been a lot of interest about this book, because she's a prominent Epstein accuser who actually died from suicide earlier this year,

Starting point is 00:10:52 but her memoir was completed prior to her death. Now, according to reports, in her book, she says that in her years with Epstein and Galane Maxwell, they lent me out to scores of wealthy, powerful people. I was habitually used and humiliated, and in some instances, choked, beaten, and bloody, I believed that I might die a sex slave. Right, and that as you had other reports noting she specifically said she was bloodied after an encounter with a former prime minister who she didn't give name over fears that he might harm her. But also, some reports have said that she previously named Ahud Barak, the former Prime Minister of Israel in court documents, though he has denied allegations that he raped her.

Starting point is 00:11:23 And this also comes as previous excerpts already dove into allegations that she made against Prince Andrew, calling him entitled as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright. And actually, on Friday, Prince Andrew announced that he would stop using his royal title, the Duke of York, amid all this fallout, writing that after speaking with the king, we have concluded the continued accusations against me distract from the work of his majesty in the royal family, saying I have decided, as I always have to put my duty to my family and country first. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honors which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me. And that really just being the latest as he already stood away from his royal duties back in 2019. But also I'll say, you know, this news shouldn't be confused with him not being a royal anymore. He's still the son of Queen Elizabeth. He remains a prince and is still eighth in line for

Starting point is 00:12:09 succession. And so that, it's why you have many saying, you know, more needs to be done to hold Prince Andrew accountable. Right, and there's a ton of pressure right now on both the royal family and the UK government to use powers that would formally strip him of his titles. And in fact, you had Virginia Jufrey's brother saying it needs to go past his Duke honor and he should no longer be a prince. And then also with this, you have the news that the Metropolitan Police in London are saying that they're looking at claims about Prince Andrew. With that, I'll say they're not investigating sexual assault claims directly. Instead, they're looking into media reports claiming that Andrew asked his police protection officer to dig up dirt on Virginia Juffray back in 2011. Which would have been just before the

Starting point is 00:12:41 mail on Sunday published a photo of Virginia and Andrew together. With leaked email showing Andrew allegedly claiming that he gave his officer Virginia's social security number and birthday and suggested she had a criminal record. So you had leaders in the UK calling these reports concerning and saying this is not how officers should be used. And well, for now, that's where we are. We should have more updates soon. Then there's more we've got to dive into today.

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Starting point is 00:15:04 restrictions apply. See Golden Nuggett Casino.com for details. Please play responsibly. Trump supporter, it's a get-out-a-jail-free card, and the president wants you to know this. Basically saying it's not wrong versus right, it's right versus left, it's loyalty over reality. Now, the latest benefit from this is a disgraced former congressman George Santos. Because you had Trump on Friday announcing on social media. George Santos was somewhat of a rogue, but there are many rogues throughout our country that aren't forced to serve seven years in prison. With that he pointed to Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal's false and misleading claims in the past

Starting point is 00:15:37 that he served in Vietnam and argued. This is far worse than what George Sandler. Santos did, and at least Santos had the courage, conviction, and intelligence to always vote Republican. With him hitting that in all caps, in case his message wasn't clear enough. And adding, George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time, and by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated. Therefore, I just signed a commutation releasing George Santos from prison immediately. Good luck, George, have a great life. So where we should start here is, well, what did George Santos actually do?

Starting point is 00:16:03 That's an important thing for informing your opinion. So what you had was a man who was elected as a representative for New York's third congressional district back in 2023. Then, you soon had outlets reporting that he had made up key details on his campaign biography, including about his education, past work, experience, and religion. But then, very importantly, that is not where it ended, because in 2023, a congressional ethics investigation found that he didn't properly spent campaign funds on things like Botox, designer clothes, and only fans. With that, then leading to him actually getting expelled from Congress,

Starting point is 00:16:31 and in 2024, he then pled guilty to wire fraud and identity theft in federal court. With Santos admitting to lying to Congress, stealing money from campaign donors, in fraudulently collecting unemployment benefits. And then regarding his sentence in April, you had Santos writing that the seven years he received was a quote, over-the-top politically influenced sentenced and added, I implore that President Trump gives me a chance

Starting point is 00:16:50 to prove I'm more than the mistakes I've made. So now, with Trump's commutation, after serving less than three months of his seven-year sentence, he's a free man. And as he'd expect, there's been a lot of criticism, especially from his former colleagues and constituents from New York. With New York, Representative Nick Lolo, for example, saying George Santos didn't merely lie,

Starting point is 00:17:06 he stole millions to fraud at an election and his crimes for which he pled guilty weren't more than a three-month sentence. That, as you also had Andrew Garberino, another congressman from the state, and one who sat on the House Ethics Committee panel that investigated Santos saying the victims of Santos' crimes still have not been made whole. Right, and with that, you had a guy who claimed that Santos helped him start a go-fund me for his dog's surgery, and then Santos kept the money telling the New York Times, I feel like I got personally stabbed in the gut by the president of the United States.

Starting point is 00:17:33 I don't think he even realizes what George did, what he was guilty of. Right, and actually, connected to that as part of his sentence. sentencing, Santos was ordered to pay back more than $370,000 in restitution to some of his victims, along with $205,000 in forfeiture. Well, now Santos has said he'll only do that if he's required by law. The thing is, it seems like it isn't. At least, based on the clemency gram posted by pardon attorney Ed Martin, which said, Trump granted Santos a, quote, immediate commutation of his entire sentence to time served with no further fines, restitution, probation, probation, supervision, or other conditions. And also, you know, in addition to taking issue with letting anyone off the hook for their crimes, the obviously partisan nature. while this has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Because again, Trump made it very, very clear that

Starting point is 00:18:13 Santos being a Republican and voting his way was a factor in his decision. And that, it's part of a broader pattern. I mean, besides things like the January 6th pardon, which of course are standout, you also have things like the watchdog group citizens for responsibility and ethics in Washington claiming that Trump has granted clemency to 16 corrupt politicians. With the vast majority being Republicans, though at least two were Democrats. So with all that said, you had several Republicans pushing back against this narrative. And that includes House Speaker Mike Johnson, as well as Santos himself pushing back, pointing to Joe Biden's pardoning of his son Hunter. And then there's a lot of people who were upset with President Biden who pardoned his entire

Starting point is 00:18:46 family before he left office in an unprecedented move. So pardon me if I'm not paying too much attention to the curl-platching of the outrage of my critics and of the people predominantly on the left who are going to go out there and try to make a big deal out of something like this. And then also with this, you had Santos Clemming that a guy who worked on his campaign and was later sentenced to one year in prison for wire fraud was a victim of arbitrary sentencing and saying that he should have a commutation afforded to him as well. Right, and that as he had Santos arguing that the sentence that he received was disproportionate, but also saying that his time in prison was a large slice of humble pine.

Starting point is 00:19:21 And claiming that the experience was so transformative that he would now be devoting his time to advocating for prison reform. And also probably getting back out on the podcast circuit. Because he just can't keep this diva down. But the next up in the news, we need to talk about the second round of No King's protests that went down over the weekend. Right, especially as you had over 2,700 rallies taking place on Saturday, an organizer is saying that some 7 million people were marching under the No King's banner. And they were seemingly everywhere, New York, New Orleans, Chicago, Portland, L.A., D.C., and on and on, and it included many rallies in smaller cities and even districts that squarely voted for Donald Trump in the last election.

Starting point is 00:19:54 You even had international rallies in places like Paris, London, Rome, and Lisbon. With this being the second iteration of the No King's protest against Donald Trump and what he's been doing, it was kind of the same, but also different. The first one back in June, it drew some 5 million demonstrators. And now this time around you had more people, and that included new protesters who joined the fray to stand against new issues that have cropped up since the first No Kings Day. So things including, but definitely not limited to, immigration raids, federal troops in cities, government layoffs, rollback of vaccine requirements, and all the things that are happening and will happen under the big beautiful bill that was signed into law back in July. So you had protesters saying things like, I'm crying for the pride of all these people that are gathered here and all over our country. The pride of our country, the pride of in the belief that our Constitution means something and that we all have the right to fight

Starting point is 00:20:39 for what we believe in. That is what makes my heart happy and sad at the same time that we actually have to do this. It's really important to me that America was founded on immigrants by immigrants and the fact that they are trying to shut that out and rewrite history is a really big deal. Rather than abandoning a war against an elusive, perhaps sometimes imaginary fall, we are confronting the possible end of our republic. We are here to tell our lawmakers that what's going on in our government is wrong.

Starting point is 00:21:13 They must stop the abuses of this petulant president and his circle of sycophants. No thrones, no crowns, no kings. Also, I'll say another notable difference this time around were the costumes. Because you had a number of people at these rallies just wearing silly costumes, including inflatable. You know, we talked about this on the crashing out pod,

Starting point is 00:21:33 But it feels like a lot of people are doing this to establish the fact that these protests are, in fact, peaceful and nonviolent. And you had one protester in L.A. saying it's really hard to call something a war zone when you look at something and it's just a block party and people in Halloween costumes. And also, you know, people are doing it in response to a viral video of an ice agent firing pepper spray directly into the air vent of a protester's frog costume. But it's not to say like everyone's loving the costumes, right? That's even resulted in its own controversy. Or you have some saying if you have this inflatable frog or dinosaur, it makes it hard to take the cause of the protest seriously. But with that, I'll say one, this is my opinion, I think that criticism misses the point of why that's happening. And two, the controversy and debate around that, it's pretty small compared to the other things we've seen connected to Saturday's events. Because as you can imagine, Trump and Team Trump had several things to say about the protests.

Starting point is 00:22:17 And in fact, part of Trump's response to millions of people across this country protesting his administration, accusing him of trying to be a king, was to share an AI-generated video of him in a crown, flying a jet, spraying sewage all over them. Though that also wasn't the end of it, he shared another AI-generated video. video originally posted by J.D. Vance on blue sky of him putting on a crown and robe in front of kneeling Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. The Trump said that those posts were meant to be a tongue-in-cheek moment and he then further responded to the protesters by telling reporters while on Air Force One. Checking it out. The demonstrations were very small, very ineffective, and the people were whacked out. When you look at those people, those are not

Starting point is 00:22:55 representative of the people of our country. Mr. Casta, besides San Francisco, I'm not a king. I'm not a king. I work. I work. my ass off to make our country, right? That's all it is. I'm not a king at all. Right, and that sentiment was also echoed by Speaker Mike Johnson, whose own response included a statement to ABC News saying, if President Trump was a king, the government would be open right now. If President Trump was a king, they would not have been able to engage in that free speech exercise out on the mall. And Johnson, then going on to say that the protests were essentially hate America rallies and saying they pushed a hateful anti-American Marxist message, saying it's

Starting point is 00:23:27 not about the people, it's about the message, it's about the ideology. It is a dangerous ideology and it is anti-American. It goes against everything that we stand for. And then also this morning you had a reporter confronting Johnson about the AI video of Trump and asking. Does this say that the president of the United States over the weekend released a video of him pooping on the American media? The president uses social media to make a point. Um, you can argue he's probably the most effective person who's ever used social media for that. Um, he, he is, um, he is using satire to make a point. He is not calling for the the murder of his political opponents.

Starting point is 00:24:03 Right, then as far as other responses from Team Trump and Republicans, it's been a bit mixed. Right, some have dismissed the protest as inconsequential, including White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson, who responded to a request for comment about the protest with the response, Who Cares? And that as you had Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, posting an ex the day of the protest.

Starting point is 00:24:20 Good morning to my fellow Americans who are celebrating no Kings Day today, while most of us celebrate this reality on July 4th, you do you. Though this also as you had people agreeing with Johnson, denouncing the protest is un-American accusing the left of catering to a part of their base that is, quote, made up of Hamas, terrorist, illegal aliens, and violent criminals. Which, oh, to say, you know, that was the news, my opinion,

Starting point is 00:24:40 wild but not unexpected response. One, peaceful protests, one of the most fucking American things ever. Two, this is just yet another example that if you are critical of Netanyahu's government, apparently you're fucking Hamas. In three, yeah, obviously, you must be a violent criminal or an illegal alien if you think that, I don't know, everyone deserves due process. Especially in the face of of a president who, among other things, teases until he's really just normalizing the idea of him running more than he's legally allowed. But no, of course, it's a lot easier to just other those that stand against you and say they're crazy and violent or made up and fake or paid. Because otherwise you'd have to deal with the fact that other real Americans out there

Starting point is 00:25:19 are freaked out by what's happening right now. But hey, that was the news, a little bit of my take. And of course, I'd love to hear from you. But then next up in the news, will this Israel Hamas ceasefire actually last, right? That's what you're seeing more and more people asking is it barely survived the weekend. Though also survives a key word there because dozens more were killed in Gaza. So it's been 10 days since the deal went into effect. And under the agreement, Israel still controls more than half of Gaza and the so-called like yellow line is the line behind which Israel has withdrawn its troops. But on Sunday, you had the military claiming that Hamas fired towards his forces beyond the yellow line several times. And saying in one case it killed two

Starting point is 00:25:51 soldiers in the Rafa area of southern Gaza and the military described the attack as a blatant violation of the troops. But this also, as you had Hamas's military wing saying in a statement that it wasn't aware of any incidents or clashes taking place in the Rafa area. Because those zones are under Israeli control and they out of that contact had been severed with its groups that remained there. And actually later had Trump seeming to back that up, speaking to reporters on Air Force One last night and saying, we want to make sure that it's going to be very peaceful with Hamas. As you know, they've been quite rambunctious. They've been doing some shooting and

Starting point is 00:26:22 we think maybe the leadership isn't involved in it, you know, so rebels within, but either way, it's going to be handled properly. It's going to be handled toughly, but properly. Before all that, you had Israel deciding to close all crossings into Gaza halt the delivery of humanitarian aid, and the military also announced that it had launched strikes into the area that the soldiers had been killed to, quote, eliminate the threat, including by taking out tunnel shafts and other military structures. By the afternoon, you had the military widening the assault, saying that it had struck

Starting point is 00:26:50 dozens of a mass targets throughout the Gaza Strip, and those strikes yesterday, they reportedly killed at least 44 people throughout the territory. And that brings a total number to at least 90s. 7 Palestinians killed since the start of the ceasefire, according to Gaza's government media office. Or because even before yesterday, several were reportedly killed in connection to alleged violations of the yellow line. So on Friday, for example, the Israeli military fired on a vehicle in northern Gaza, killing at least nine people, including four children, according to a rescue service, that's part of Gaza's interior ministry. As far as Israel, you had their military claiming that in addition to crossing the line, the vehicle appeared suspicious and ignored soldiers warning shots. But then on the flip side, you have many noting that Gazans are confused about where exactly this line is.

Starting point is 00:27:26 Right, and that's assuming they can even access the internet and figure out the maps. That said, you have the Israeli military now reportedly putting up physical markers along the yellow line to make sure that it's clear, so we'll have to see if that helps. But I also say that is that's not the only way that we've seen violence flaring up around this boundary. Because in addition to tension between Hamas and Israel, we've seen clashes between Hamas and rival groups in Gaza. That includes an incident that ended with the apparent public execution of eight people in a public square in Gaza City. But with that, apparently being a part of what Hamas is called a security campaign aimed at collaborators, mercenary, thieves, bandits, and those cooperating with the Zionist enemy throughout the Gaza Strip. And, you know, connected to that, we know that Israel's been arming several militias in an attempt

Starting point is 00:28:04 to counter Hamas. Right now, according to a Gaza expert of the European Council on Foreign Relations, these groups are operating from the Israeli side of the Yellow Line, from which they, quote, descend on the other half of Gaza, carry out attacks, and then go run back to those protected areas. So the situation on the ground, it still remains incredibly complicated. But as far as moving forward, he did at least have the Israeli military saying in a statement last night that it had begun the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire and saying that it would respond forcefully to any violation of the agreement.

Starting point is 00:28:30 So then also with that, you had them saying that the flow of aid would continue, although that aid, it still may not actually be enough. And I say that because you've got people like an official from the UN's Palestinian refugee agency saying that while it is a relief that the crossings have reopened, the volume of aid, it's still way below what's needed. And that's actually is, you know, one of the crossings,

Starting point is 00:28:47 the Rafa one, it's still closed. And you have the Israeli authority saying they've delayed its opening and responds to Hamas's inability to return the bodies of all hostages. Because as of now, in addition to freeing all the remaining living hostages, the group is turned over the bodies of 12 captives, according to the Israeli government. You've got Hamas saying that finding and returning the rest, it's going to take time if it's even possible. We're saying

Starting point is 00:29:05 that some, they're just buried deep under rubble and they require heavy equipment to extract them. And so the meantime, that's going to obviously remain a point of contention. And it's just one of several things that could completely collapse this ceasefire. But again, as a lifelong cynic, I am going to hope for the best, but I'm going to expect the worst or the least. To me, in this part just my opinion, it does feel like the situation has been built to fail, but time will tell if I'm being a realist or just a cynic. But that is where your show is going to end today, but there's even more just a click away. You got that new episode of my podcast, In Good Faith. This week, we had Ben Rhodes from Pod Save the World on, and or you've got the newest episode of the

Starting point is 00:29:38 Philip DeFranco show if you weren't the quickest to this one. And whether it be PDS or Pod, you can watch on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts, links in the description. But regardless of what you do with those fingers right now, let me just say, thank you for watching. I love yo face, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.

The Philip DeFranco Show - The TwitchCon Problem is Scary & Bigger Than They Are Willing To Admit

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