The Young Turks - A Broader War

Episode Date: January 4, 2024

Israel is in talks with Congo and other countries on Gaza's "voluntary migration" plan. Israel’s strike in Beirut yesterday demonstrated their capacity for precision. At least 73 killed in blasts near Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani’s grave. Mental hospitals warehoused the sick, and Congress wants to let them try again. HOST: Ana Kasparian (@AnaKasparian) SUBSCRIBE on YOUTUBE: ☞ https://www.youtube.com/user/theyoungturks FACEBOOK: ☞ https://www.facebook.com/theyoungturks TWITTER: ☞ https://www.twitter.com/theyoungturks INSTAGRAM: ☞ https://www.instagram.com/theyoungturks TIKTOK: ☞ https://www.tiktok.com/@theyoungturks 👕 Merch: https://shoptyt.com ❤ Donate: http://www.tyt.com/go 🔗 Website: https://www.tyt.com 📱App: http://www.tyt.com/app 📬 Newsletters: https://www.tyt.com/newsletters/ If you want to watch more videos from TYT, consider subscribing to other channels in our network: The Watchlist https://www.youtube.com/watchlisttyt Indisputable with Dr. Rashad Richey https://www.youtube.com/indisputabletyt The Damage Report ▶ https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport TYT Sports ▶ https://www.youtube.com/tytsports The Conversation ▶ https://www.youtube.com/tytconversation Rebel HQ ▶ https://www.youtube.com/rebelhq TYT Investigates ▶ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwNJt9PYyN1uyw2XhNIQMMA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to The Young Turks, the online news show. Make sure to follow and rate our show with not one, not two, not three, not four, but five stars. You're awesome. Thank you. Woo! It's up! What's up, everyone. What's good? You're watching TYT, and I'm your host, Anna Kasparian. Today's show is going to be extra lit because in the bonus episode for our members, yes, I'm skipping ahead to the bonus episode for our members. I'm finally going to address a story that's been on my mind for a really, really long time.

It has to do with the Stanley Cup. And no, we're not talking sports. We're talking about the latest fad that's been driven by social media that I fail to really understand. And we've got a lot of fun videos to show you. So if you're a member, you can look forward to that. 2.y.com slash join to become a member if you aren't if you aren't already. But if you're not a member and you're unable to support us through membership, that's

totally fine because we have a full two hour show ahead for you that includes serious news, lighter news. We're going to talk about the continued trend of insider trading among our members of Congress. There's a latest report from a group known as Unusual Wales, really looking forward to giving you some details on that. We're going to talk about Congressman Dan Crenshaw getting a little snippy with Jesse Waters from Fox News. That's also a fun story we'll get to. Yes, a lot of heavy news in regard to the ongoing war in Gaza. We'll do that at the top of the show. But as always, just want to encourage you guys to like and share the stream. That's another way to help support TYT and get the message out there.

Helps to keep us independent and free of corporate influence as well, as long as we have more members signing up and more supporters writing in through super chat. So just want to thank you all in advance for doing that. And without further ado, let's get to our first story. An Israeli newspaper is now reporting that multiple officials in Israel are holding secret meetings with other countries around the world to discuss displacing Palestinians from Gaza, you know, also known as ethnic cleansing. Now let me just say this is something that we have been warning about for weeks now.

And all of the Israel defenders kept denying that this was the reality. because they wanted to pretend as though, no, no, you don't understand. Israel is the only democracy in the region. Israel is above all that. They would never carry out ethnic cleansing. Well, they're carrying out ethnic cleansing. And it is now abundantly clear. We have the evidence.

Now, last Monday, Netanyahu said at a Lakud meeting that he is, in fact, working to facilitate the voluntary, voluntary resettlement of Gazans to us. other countries. Voluntary is a weird way of putting it when your plan is to make the Gaza Strip unlivable by leveling the Gaza Strip. So people feel that they have no choice but to leave the Gaza Strip because again, it is unlivable in Gaza. No residential buildings, no functioning hospitals. This was the plan all along.

Hence the indiscriminate bombing that we have been seeing in footage, in reports, in unbiased media that we've been sharing with you here at TYT. Now Netanyahu said our problem is finding countries that are willing to absorb gossens and we are working on it. The prime minister was responding to Lakoud MK Danny Danin who claimed that the world is already discussing the possibilities of voluntary immigration, though the idea has been roundly rejected by the international community. And that's probably because the international community does not want

want to aid and abet the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. A senior official also says that Israel is now holding talks with several countries. Netanyahu's coalition is allegedly pushing for the Democratic Republic of Congo to accept thousands of immigrants from Gaza. In 2021, Congo's level of human development was ranked 179th out of 191 countries by the human development index and is classified as the least developed country in the UN, or by the UN, I should say. It is currently experiencing political instability, lots of clashes between opposing political groups in Congo, not exactly the type of place people would want to immigrate to, which

makes it no surprise to me that Netanyahu and the goons and his far right government want to push Palestinians out of their land and into a country like the Democratic Republic of Congo. A senior source in Israel's security cabinet said, quote, Congo will be willing to take in migrants and we're in talks with others. The idea was also raised in regard to Saudi Arabia, taking in Palestinians, thousands of Palestinians to do construction work. We'll go through more specific calls for displacing Palestinians as well. But first, here's Middle East analyst Muin Rabani explaining how calls for ethnic cleansing saw a resurgence right after the October 7th attacks and the ongoing effort to carry it out. Let's watch. The proposal that that was put

front and center literally on October 7th and onwards was to move the population of the Gaza Strip to the Sinai Desert, to Egypt. And this was an idea that was very enthusiastically embraced by the Secretary, U.S. Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken. He was met with categorical refusal and rejection for this proposal, first and foremost, by Egypt. And the U.S. and European governments later came out with a position that they would oppose forced displacement from the Gaza.

Strip, leaving open the possibility of what we're seeing now, an Israeli military campaign, a primary objective of which is to make the Gaza Strip unfit for human habitation, and then the encouragement of voluntary or what is now even being called humanitarian emigration in order to achieve the ethnic cleansing. I mean, this is what we heard from David From on yesterday's show. I played a snippet of an interview that he had on Al Jazeera, where he tried to put a pretty face on the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. By the way, if you're unfamiliar with David From, he's the person who would write

George W. Bush's speeches, as Bush was conducting his own war crimes in the Middle East, He's the one who dubbed the so-called axis of evil, fear-mongered about various countries that the United States should invade and engage in preemptive wars of. David Frum is someone who is so fully discredited, it is shocking to me that anyone has any interest in listening to anything he has to say. But he did in fact try to paint this pretty picture of the displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, arguing that they should be allowed into other countries in order to work and send money back to the Gaza Strip. And he said this knowing full well that Benjamin Netanyahu wants to take control of Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip in order to basically have full control of that land. You think Netanyahu's going to allow Palestinians back into the Gaza Strip?

Come on, come on. David Frum knows what he's doing. And so do various figures within Israel's far right government, including a known terrorist, by the way. Basilel Smotrich, he is a known terrorist. I'll explain why in just a moment. He's unfortunately currently the national security minister. I'm sorry, he's the finance minister. And then you also have the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gavir, who are both ardent supporters of these types of plans, plans to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from the strip. Smotrich, who was arrested in 2005, get a load of this while protesting Israel's evacuation of its Gaza Strip settlements, said Jerusalem could not allow Gaza to remain as a hot

house of two million people who want to destroy the state of Israel. We want to encourage willful immigration and we need to find countries willing to take them in, he said. You notice how he made a blanket statement about the two million Palestinians. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, they're all terrorists. In their eyes, they're all terrorists. But let's be clear, the real terrorist here is Basel Smotrich. Okay, he's a terrorist. In fact, he was arrested for terroristic activity prior to what he's serving as right now. It is disgusting that he's a government official, but what more could you expect from Israel's far right

government? And what am I talking about? It had previously been reported that Smotrich was held by the shinbet security service for three weeks on suspicion that he was planning to block major traffic arteries and damage infrastructure to protest the withdrawal and was part of a cell of five people who were caught allegedly planning an attack with 700 liters of gasoline. They were planning to bomb a major road, an artery that runs through the area. That's who we're talking about. And he has the audacity to call all Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, half of whom are children, terrorists, okay. Anyway, let's get back to the ethnic cleansing plans by the very political leaders in Israel who think they're not the terrorists.

Now, to be fair, Smotrich was released without any charges, but honestly, at this point, I have zero faith in Israel's judicial system or justice system, I should say. Now, back to the present day where Smotrich also said during an appearance on Israel's Channel 12, we will be in security. control and we will need there to be civil control, okay, I'm for completely changing the reality in Gaza, having a conversation about settlements in the Gaza Strip. He wants the land, guys. We'll need to rule there for a long time. If we want to be there militarily, we need to be there in a civilian fashion. This was his plan all along, right?

This war is, in his mind, a perfect opportunity to do something that he's been wanting to do since the early aughts, get the Palestinians out of that land because in his mind, that land belongs to the precious settlers who, by the way, carry out all sorts of terror against Palestinians, Armenian Christians in the West Bank, those settlers. He's looking out for those guys. Anyway, let me continue. In a later interview with Israel's army radio, Smatrich, doubled down. We need to encourage immigration from there. If there were 100,000 to 200,000 Arabs in the strip and not two million, the whole conversation

about the day after the war would be completely different. They want to leave. They have been living in a ghetto for 75 years and are in need. All right, Smatrich, super concerned about Palestinians who are living in a ghetto in the Gaza strip, a ghetto of Israel's making, let's be clear about that. Because when you're cut off from the world economy, when your borders are shut, and Israel, honestly, an enemy state controls who goes in, who goes out, and what your economy is able to do, yeah, yeah, the situation ends up being pretty dire in the Gaza Strip.

But that is not the fault of Palestinians. That is the result of Israel taking control of the economic situation in the Gaza Strip. But they refuse to take any responsibility for that, as they refuse to take responsibility for all sorts of horrific war crimes that they have committed in the latest round of this disgusting and brutal war. Ben Gavir, meanwhile, said in a Lakoud meeting on Monday, we cannot withdraw from any territory we are in in the Gaza Strip. Not only do I not rule out Jewish resettlement there, I believe it is also an important

thing, I'm sure you do. The war presents an opportunity, he says, to concentrate on encouraging the migration of the residents of Gaza, Ben Gavir told reporters and members of his far-right Outsma-Jahudit party calling such a policy a correct, just, moral, and humane solution. Forcing people out of their land, a humane solution. Of course, forcing them out of their land after you make their land unlivable. after you indiscriminately bombed the land, after you destroy the hospitals, the schools, the residential buildings, the refugee camps. But let's be clear, it is not just those two calling for ethnic cleansing. On Tuesday, intelligence minister Gila Gamliel told Zaman that voluntary migration is the best and most realistic program for the day after the fighting ends.

Listen, it would be terrible enough if I were covering this story knowing that the United States has nothing to do with it. The reason why I'm so fired up about this story, the reason why we have stayed on this topic, the reason why we do multiple topics or multiple stories related to this topic on the show is because the United States government is funding this, is providing support for this, continues to provide cover for Israel as it carries out its war crimes. Now, the U.S. government felt pressure to respond to all of this because, I mean, they're just saying the quiet parts out loud. The U.S. can't just defend Israel as its officials are just openly calling for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. And we'll get to their statements in just a moment. But there are more government officials.

Let's go back to Danny Dannan, another of the leading supporters of the plan to encourage Gazans to leave the area. On Tuesday, he presented his five-step plan at a conference in the Knesset, demobilization, establishing a security buffer zone, Israeli presence at the Rafa border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, again, trying to take control of Egypt's border with Gaza, voluntary emigration, let's please, like, don't insult our intelligence, it's not going to be voluntary, and eradicating the terrorist atmosphere. I would venture to say, given all these statements we're hearing from Israeli politicians, the terrorist atmosphere exists in the Israeli government at the moment. But let me continue. Shockingly, Matt Miller, let's get to the

United States and their reaction. Matt Miller is with the U.S. State Department and he actually put out a mild condemnation of what Israel is planning to do, which for the United States is a pretty big deal. God forbid the U.S. vociferously speak out. and condemn what Israel has been doing, but a mild condemnation, but that's what we got from the U.S. State Department. Here's what Matthew Miller had to say. The United States rejects recent statements from Israeli ministers Basilel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gavir, advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza. This rhetoric is inflammatory and irresponsible. We have been told repeatedly and consistently by the government of Israel, including the prime

minister that such statements do not reflect the policy of the Israeli government. They should stop immediately. A really good way to understand what the motivations and intentions of the Israeli government would be to ignore what they say to the U.S. press, because they tell you what you want to hear. They don't want Americans to feel bad about the fact that they are financially and militarily supporting the ethnic cleansing and possible genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strait. And so they'll tell you pretty little lies, and a lot of Americans will swallow it. They'll believe it.

It's pathetic, but it's the reality of the situation. But pay attention to what these government officials say to the Israeli press, because they've been making statements like this for a while now. And I think that, you know, when they tell you who they are and what they plan to do, you should believe them. Don't insult our intelligence by lying to us in American press and think that we're too. stupid to not understand and see what's happening on the ground in Gaza. The footage is real, the fatalities are real, 23,000 Palestinians dead.

The number is likely higher because it doesn't even include the number of Palestinians that are trapped under the rubble and presumed to be dead. But that's the reality of the situation. And we're talking about the vast majority of these individuals being women and children. And we say that because, you know, when you think of the excuses that Israel makes, oh, they're targeting Hamas, well, you don't think of women and children when you think of Hamas. But make no mistake, innocent Palestinian men are also being slaughtered.

In some cases, they're being detained, stripped down, humiliated, doctors with absolutely no evidence of any wrongdoing or being rounded up and detained as well. But we're all supposed to pretend like everything that Israel's been doing is above board. And that since they suffered a brutal, disgusting, and awful terrorist attack on October 7th, well, then we should just give them full rain to do whatever they want. They should be able to slaughter as many children as they want. Right? Because that in their minds is going to do what, root out Hamas?

I mean, the current Israeli government is a manufacturing plant for extremists. And I'm not talking about Israeli extremists. I'm talking about their military actions reproducing extremism in the Middle East. That is what they're doing right now as we speak. So this idea that they're rooting out Hamas is laughable. And by the way, the state department's condemnation, mild condemnation of what the government of Israel has been saying. recently was quickly rebuked. Smotrich dismissed the comments on Wednesday claiming that over 70% of Israelis support the idea of encouraging voluntary immigration because 2 million people

in Gaza wake up every morning with the desire to destroy the state of Israel. Do they? Really? Is he in the minds of 2 million Palestinians? And doesn't this make it abundantly clear to you that they see every single Palestinian in the Gaza Strip as a legitimate target. And we're talking about a population, again, where 50% are minors, are children. So all of those children are, are the babies sitting up in their cribs, salivating over the idea of destroying Israel? Are they legitimate targets? I mean, the IDF certainly acts like their legitimate targets. Ben Gavir quickly responded with a tweet, and this is translated from Hebrew.

He says, I really admire the United States of America, but with all due respect, we are not another star in the American flag. The United States is our best friend. That made me sick to my stomach at the moment. But before everything else, we will do what is good for the state of Israel. The emigration of hundreds of thousands from Gaza will allow residents of the border area to return home and live in security and protect IDF soldiers. The Israeli government should absolutely be separated from the Israeli population.

When I talk about Israel, I'm talking about their government because I fully believe that civilians should be protected under all circumstances. Now with that said, I find Israel, government deplorable, I find it embarrassing that the United States provide support for this far right government as it's carrying out its atrocities in the Gaza Strip. I am not a friend and I do not ever want to be referred to as a friend of Israel's current government. And I would just ask Israelis in Israel to really consider how they appear on the international stage with the kind of representation they have with this far right government that previously wanted to dismantle their system of checks and balances, do away with the

power that the country's judiciary has in order to solidify more power for the far right government for people like Netanyahu. Netanyahu is deeply unpopular among Israelis. He's also deeply unpopular on the international stage. He has destroyed any goodwill toward Israel on the international stage. And while the United States government continues to support anything Israel wants to do, regardless of how far right the government is, fact of the matter is you look at polling among Americans, and they are not in support of what Israel is doing. So for the love of God, please do not refer to people who have a conscience in the United States as friends of this Israeli government.

We're not, and we're disgusted by it. We got to take a break. When we come back, we'll talk about some attacks in Iran, attacks that happened in Lebanon as well. Who's behind them? What's the purpose? We'll get into all of that and more when we come back. Stop. Do you know how fast you were going?

I'm going to have to write you a ticket to my new movie, The Naked Gun. Liam Nissan. Buy your tickets now. I get a free chili dog. Chilly dog, not included. The Naked God. Tickets on sale now. August 1st. Special thanks to Trisha Briggs, who's been a TYT member for 37 months.

And thank you for thanking us and all the hard work we do here. I'm particularly thankful for my team. I wouldn't be able to do this show without them. And the comment is Anna and TYT, your truthful reporting in these awful times is absolutely essential. Thank you. Thank you for your support. We really do appreciate it. All right, well, we need to talk a little bit about how this unfortunate, terrible

brutal war in Gaza is already escalating, has escalated to other countries in the region. Let's discuss. Our senior Hamas commander killed in Lebanon, an explosion in Beirut, the capital of that country. Several other members of that Palestinian militant group also killed in the blast. You see it on your screen. It's led to concerns that the conflict between Israel and Hamas may now be expanding. All eyes are on Hezbollah and the militant group. possible retaliatory response to the killing of a senior Hamas leader in a suburb of Beirut,

Lebanon. A drone strike on Tuesday killed Saleh al-Aruri, who was the commander of Hamas's military wing in the West Bank and deputy chairman of the group's political bureau. Aruri was also at the center of repairing Hamas' relations with Iran, and had been a target of Israel even before the current war in Gaza began. Now reports allege that six other Hamas members were also killed by the drone strike, individuals whose names I'm going to butcher, including Ismail, Hanay, Hamas's political leader, who said that the cowardly attack also killed Samir Fondi and Azam al-Aqura, two leaders in the military wing of Hamas, as well as four other members of the group.

Now, even though carrying out a bombing in a sovereign country's suburbs like this is a dangerous escalation of war, Israel's supporters have been defending the drone strike on social media. And look, to be honest, I actually don't have a problem with Israel targeting Hamas at all. I do have a problem with them taking actions that could drag the United States into yet another Middle East conflict. And although we don't know for sure who's behind it, Iran also suffered a terror attack today at the burial site of slain military commander Qasem Soleimani, which killed literally hundreds of people. Now things are definitely escalating and Israel has wanted the men and women in our military to fight their war against Iran for years now.

And if the drone strike was totally okay and above board, why is Israel refusing to take responsibility for it. So in a video titled, Israel does not take responsibility for Beirut strike, Netanyahu's senior advisor Mark Regev tries to deny that Israel was behind the strike. But that's such a laughable lie that Regev himself couldn't help but slip up during the conversation on MSNBC. Don't you expect that a strike in downtown Beirut might have might lead to a Hezbollah response and open that northern front, which of course Israel and the United States have been very concerned against the second front opening to the north.

So I think it's obvious. Obviously in Lebanon, there are many physical targets, but whoever did this strike was very surgical and went for a Hamas target because Israel is at war, whoever did. this has a gripe with Hamas. It's once again, whoever did this, it's not an attack on the Lebanese state. It's not an attack on the Gizabella terrorist organization. Whoever did this, it's an attack on Hamas, that's very clear. Nailed it, totally nailed it.

Hmm, who on earth would have a gripe with Hamas right now? Look, anyone with two brain cells to rub together knows that Israel is behind this attack. Also, a U.S. defense official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter said the IDF was in fact responsible for the strike targeting Aruri. And Danny Danin, a member of the Knesset from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nanyahu's Lakud party congratulated the IDF and Israeli intelligence agencies in a social media post Tuesday night for killing the senior Hamas official Saleh Aruri in Beirut. Then there's the fact that Israeli officials signaled in recent months that they plan

to carry out an assassination campaign against Hamas leaders scattered in the broader Middle East region. In leaked recordings published in Israeli media last month, Ronan Barr, head of Shinbet, Israel's internal security agency, said that we are determined to do it. This is our Munich, a reference to the years-long Israeli assassination campaign that targeted members of terrorist groups suspected of planning the kidnapping and killing of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972. They just say it out loud, it's amazing.

So Netanyahu also said in November that he had instructed Mossad, the covert operations arm of Israel's intelligence services, to act against the heads of Hamas wherever they are. Israeli analyst and former Netanyahu advisor, Aviv Bushinsky, called the killing of Aruri the biggest assassination in more than a decade. Of course, Israel was behind it, he said. So Israel isn't really doing themselves any favors by denying that they're behind the attack. I mean, they're already losing credibility when they get caught in their lies. And here's yet another very obvious lie.

Just take responsibility for it. But there are some theories that Israel's denials are really about giving Hezbollah, some space to weigh its options. Hezbollah leader Syed Hassan Nasrallah had warned Israel in August against assassinations inside Lebanon. In a speech at the time, he said that any assassination on Lebanese soil that targets a Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian, Iranian, or others will certainly have a strong reaction. But he also noted that they want to avoid a full blown war with Israel. So Israel refusing to take responsibility is considered a way in which Hezbollah can brush this off and not engage in a broader war with Israel.

And if Hezbollah believes that Israel is in fact behind the strike and they do, and everyone does, Israel argues that the targeted nature of the strike and the fact that it did not kill any Hezbollah leaders means that they want to avoid drawing the Lebanese group into a broader war. However, following the drone strike, Hezbollah said it considered the assassination a serious assault on Lebanon, its people, its security, sovereignty, and resistance. Now, they also said that we in Hezbollah affirm that this crime will not at all pass without a response and punishment. Hezbollah's hand is on the trigger. And I just want to pause and say that the head of Hezbollah of Nasrallah today gave a speech and honestly showed remark. restraint because I was under the impression that he was going to issue all sorts of threats

and escalate the war with Israel. But to me, it's clear that they're being serious in not wanting to drag Lebanon into a hot war with Israel. And so even following what happened in this drone strike, they've decided, let's just restrain ourselves. And honestly, I think that's the right move. I happen to think that Israel is in fact itching for a broader regional war that they expect the United States to suffer the brunt of. And if Israel provokes a broader conflict, they should, you know, fight that war on their own. The United States should not be involved. But look, we all know that's wishful thinking. Israel acts with impunity because the United States will always provide cover for its crimes or the fact that they'll effortlessly

and irresponsibly violate the sovereignty of other nations. That much has been established, And there's really nothing more I can add to that. But for the purposes of this discussion, I do want to compare the precision of the strike that took out Al Rurie to the obvious indiscriminate bombing of civilians in the Gaza Strip. As Jewish Chronicle editor Jake Simons points out, the strike was carried out with impressive precision. You can see in the photo that he posted there that the strike seemed to be very targeted. It didn't impact the entire building. They didn't use a bunker buster bomb. And it's been reported that no Lebanese civilians have died as a result of this,

which is good news. And even though the strike targeted a residential building in Beirut, again, no reports of civilian casualties. That's really good news. Now the strike in Lebanon proves that the IDF very clearly has the capacity to target Hamas while avoiding the slaughter of civilians, civilians, even without boots on the ground. Obviously, the same cannot be said of the Gaza Strip, where 2,000 pound bunker buster bombs

are in fact used to level entire residential buildings and neighborhoods. The Israeli attack on Palestinians in Gaza has been brutal and devastating for hospitals, refugee camps, schools, and entire neighborhoods. The war has displaced nearly the entire population and has killed tens of thousands of civilians, many of whom remain under the rubble. Doctors wouldn't call this precise. The Hamas-run health ministry says over 8,800 of this war's victims are children. We are dying of hunger, poverty and everything.

There's no shampoo to wash their hair. Look at what's happening to them. They have infections because of dirt and filth. This is already one of the most crowded places on the planet. And still, Garzans find themselves pushed into tighter and tighter slivers of land. Rafa, the very last stop at the Egyptian border. Among the packed tents, disease is spreading. Back in Rafa, the Aesin brothers, along with other detainees, recover in a school-turned shelter.

They've just been released by the Israeli forces, sharing scars and stories of their time and detention. They say they were beaten, burnt with cigarettes, and tortured. They interrogated us, using water, salty water, torture. They used electricity on us, put out cigarettes on our bodies. We didn't know anything. I was blindfolded and I couldn't see anything. And it's not like Israeli officials have been secretive about their intentional collective punishment of Palestinians, including literal children.

Dan Gilerman, the former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, told Sky News, quote, I'm very puzzled by the constant concern which the world is showing for the Palestinian people and is actually showing for these horrible inhuman animals. Apparently animals happens to be the preferred way to refer to Palestinians among Israeli officials. Quote, we are fighting against human animals, said Israelis defense minister Yoav Galant. Gaza won't return to what it was before, we will eliminate everything. Well, they're doing a good job of that. There's more dehumanizing language, including from one Israeli academic who declared of

Palestinians, I do not equate them with animals because that is an insult to animals. I would venture to say that he needs to take a good, hard look in the mirror and really question who the animal is here. And again, their intentions are clear and evidence of their intention. is represented in the complete annihilation of the Gaza Strip. Israeli army reservist Ezra Yachtin wasn't kidding when he said, quote, finish them off quickly and leave no memory of them. Erase them their families, mothers, and children.

Well, considering the two-thirds of the victims of Israel's campaign happened to be women and children, seems like they listen, they're carrying that out. And that's a reality that far too many Palestinians are familiar with. One thing none of the doctors here have got used to is the number of children they are treating. The UN estimates that some two-thirds of those killed in this round of the conflict have been women and children. Eight-year-old Janan was lucky enough to survive a strike on her family home that crushed her femur but spared her immediate family. They bombed the house in front of us and then our home. us, I was sitting next to my grandfather, and my grandfather held me, and my uncle was fine,

so he is the one who took us out. Less than two years old, Amir still doesn't know that his parents and siblings were killed in the strike that disfigured him. Yesterday he saw a nurse that looked like his father, his aunt Nahaya tells us, he kept screaming, dad, dad, dad. Amir is still too young to comprehend the horror all around him. Nothing crushes the soul like the images of children suffering in Gaza. When CNN's Clarissa Ward visited the region a few weeks ago, the stories she highlighted were unbearable and difficult to be confronted with. And according to Israeli officials in its far right government, that child that you saw in that

video who's far too young to understand what's going on is just a human animal, deserving of erasure. This is all intentional and Israel isn't trying to hide it. I mean, they don't hide it in their public statements. And maybe it's time to believe them and question whether we Americans in the United States are okay with the military and financial support we're providing them. What exactly are we getting out of supporting this? Other than condemnation on the international stage, absolute shame. I mean, I just, and by the way, the possibility of dragging us into a broader regional war. How does this benefit the American people?

How does it make the American people feel that they're supporting this? I for one, I'm ashamed of it. And I wish we had a government that was willing to stand up to powerful Israeli lobbies that corrupt our politicians. that corrupt our politicians and persuade them to carry out the support that they're currently carrying out of a far right government. I mean, what good is the Democratic Party and what good is the Biden administration? What good is liberal members of our government? Or how good are they if they're supporting far right wingers in another government's country?

Or another country's government, I should say. I just, anything that Biden or the Democrats have to say about, oh, they love equality and they want, to make sure that there's proper representation in government and none of that really matters. What matters is what we see them supporting, what they're willing to provide cover for. So all of the feel good, you know, statements and rhetoric that we've heard from the Democratic Party in years past, that that means nothing to me. What matters to me is what they're willing to do when push comes to shove, when, you know, powerful lobbying groups are breathing, are breathing down their necks, are they willing to stand up for what's right, or are they willing

to provide cover for some of the most evil behavior that we're experiencing and seeing right now? Anyway, Biden administration is an embarrassment. It really is. When we come back from the break, we're going to talk about Iran and two explosions that took place, killing hundreds of people. who was behind it. We'll get into the details and more when we come back. Why just survive back to school when you can thrive

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It's time to own it. Shop now at IKEA.ca. We're going to get right to our next story. This is the final Middle East related story in the rundown today. I hesitate to say Israel because there's no evidence that Israel is behind this. But nonetheless, we got to talk about Iran. Iranian state media captured the moment that one of the blasts happened near very crowded streets. have been killed and hundreds more are injured in Iran following two explosions near the

burial site of slain military commander Qasem Soleimani, who was in fact assassinated by the United States under the Trump administration. Now as you heard from CNN, Iran is referring to these blasts as a terror attack and the United States is denying any involvement in this, which I'm happy to hear them say. Now the death toll is expected to rise with many injured in critical condition. But as of now, at least 103 people were killed Wednesday and 171 injured in the Iranian city of Khrman following the twin blasts. The blast, at least one of which was caused by a bomb, State TV said, came on the fourth anniversary of Soleimani's death in a U.S.

airstrike and threatens to accelerate tensions in the region that have spiked since the start of the Israel Hamas war in Gaza. Now, the first explosion took place about 2,300 feet or 700 meters from Soleimani's grave. And then the second blast was about half a mile away as pilgrims were visiting that site. Now, Iranian officials told state media that a pair of bombs were placed in bags along the road toward the cemetery in the city of Kermann, the bags exploded as a huge procession of people was on its way there to commemorate the four-year anniversary of the assassination by the U.S. of General Soleimani, the architect of the axis of regional militias and powers that oppose Israel and the United States. So you can understand why the U.S.

felt the need to come out and deny any involvement in these blasts. Obviously, the U.S. has been an enemy of Iran's and vice versa. And so the U.S. wanted to make sure that there was no mistake about it and that we didn't plan these blasts. Now, a second delayed explosion in a common, a second delayed explosion is a common tactic that often happens with terrorist groups. And they're intended to inflict more harm by targeting the first responders, the individuals who try to help the victims of the first blast, which is absolutely sick. While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, Iran's president seemed to blame the country's arch rivals, the United States and Israel. Quote, we tell the criminal America and

Zionist regime that you will pay a very high price for the crimes you have committed and will regret it, he said. Right now, we do not have any idea who carried out. this attack. We just don't. And so blaming it on Israel or the United States, in my opinion is ridiculous. We obviously need more evidence of that. But I do also want to note that there are some reasons for why Iran would suspect that Israel is behind it, especially since this is a day after Israel carried out a drone strike in Lebanon, taking out a Hamas commander and several other Hamas militants. Now Israel, last week, for instance, Iran and several of its armed proxies accused Israel of assassinating a senior Iranian

commander in Syria, vowing retaliation, Israel didn't comment on the matter, but it is widely accepted that Israel was in fact behind that strike in Syria. Israel also accuses Tehran of funding and arming Hamas, and their actions show that they're provoking a broader regional war that the United States is getting dragged into. Israeli defense minister Yoav Galant said last month that his country is in a multi-arena war being attacked from seven arenas, including Iran. Quote, we have already responded and acted in six of these decrees, he said. But over the holiday weekend, the United States military sank three boats belonging to

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and also killed 10 of their militants. So in response to that, Iran ended up sending one. of their warships to the Red Sea. So these are the escalations that make some wonder if the US and Israel were behind these explosions. But it's important to remember guys that there are also competing factions within Iran. So the bombings could have been carried out internally. I also want to just comment on the nature of these bombings.

It's not really indicative of how Israel carries out attacks. The attack that they carried out in Lebanon was very targeted, extremely precise. Not a single Lebanese civilian died as a result of that. And even though they have a history of carrying out strikes that kill various individuals in other sovereign countries, which could be a disastrous escalation of war, they don't carry it out in this way. So I do think that there are some signs that Israel wasn't behind this. So I would just caution anyone from jumping to any conclusion at the moment.

The story still needs to develop. We need to have a better idea and see more evidence of who might be behind it. But in the past, Sunni terrorist groups like the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, as well as Iranian opposition militant groups such as Jundala and another one, M-E-K, have staged attacks intended to kill civilians. In 2017, the Islamic State, for instance, had launched twin attacks in Tehran, killing 12 people in strikes on parliament and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini. And again, the way that this was carried out was in fact distinct from how Israel goes after

targets in Israel. The attack did not fit Israel's usual methods when striking Iran, said Ali Vais, the Iran project director at Crisis Group. Israel, he said, has not previously attacked ordinary civilians in Iran, tending instead to target individuals such as nuclear scientists and senior security officials or facilities such as nuclear sites in precision strikes. So they are more likely to carry out precision strikes like the one they carried out in Lebanon just a day ago. And so that's something to keep in mind as this story develops. But for now, the region feels less stable, feels like conflict is escalating, and that is terrifying when you consider the United States and it's robust support for Israel and anything Israel does.

So this might not be related to Israel at all, but it does feel like conflict is escalating overall in the region, and that is something to be concerned about. And by the way, in regard to the U.S. and its relations with Iran, obviously that relationship continues to deteriorate as the United States continues to try to protect Israel in the Red Sea area. And Iran basically sends out its warships following the U.S. killing 10 Houthi militants. So we'll see how this all plays out. But things are not looking good for the region. And just when you think that Biden should get credit for pulling troops out of Afghanistan and ending that endless war, which felt like an endless war, you know, we're carrying out

airstrikes in Iraq again. It's just a complete and utter mess. But we'll stay on the story and update you as that story develops. For now, let's move on to something entirely different. I wanted to end the first hour by talking a little bit about the drug epidemic and what members of Congress are now considering in response to it, which I actually think is a pretty good idea. So let's get to that. The drug epidemic in the United States has gotten so bad with hundreds of thousands of Americans dying from overdoses, that members of Congress are now considering the use of mental hospitals to provide treatment for those

struggling with crippling addictions. I think this is a good idea, and I'll explain why after I give you the details. Now 60 years ago, Congress had actually barred Medicaid from treating people in what they had derided as mental asylums. Sixty years ago, So those facilities were in fact brutal. We're engaging in all sorts of abusive behavior. We're not providing adequate care, but we're not living in America 60 years ago. We have the capacity to create far better facilities that provide far better treatment for people. So lawmakers are on the verge of reversing course from that policy from 60 years ago.

Community-based care championed since the 1960s hasn't stopped record overdoses. And constituents have had it with the brazen drug use and tent encampments in their cities. Some public health advocates agree that times have changed and the magnitude of the crisis justifies lifting the rule. Now understand what this is about. This is about funding. This is about Congress allowing Medicaid funds to be used to pay for treatment for people who need the treatment, right? They're addicted to drugs. They could suffer from overdoses. They could die and lose their lives. They would allow for Medicaid to pay for the treatment, which I don't know if you guys know this, but drug rehabilitation or medical treatments, like medicine to treat people with severe addiction. that is insanely expensive.

Ordinary Americans, certainly those who end up living on the streets because of their addiction, cannot afford it. They can't. So allowing for Medicaid to help the most vulnerable people in this situation, I think makes all the sense in the world. Some disagree. We'll get to them in just a moment. Now, the House has already taken action on this, though it received little attention.

The House had passed on December 12th legislation pertaining to this. it would give states the option to treat Medicaid patients suffering from addiction for up to a month in a mental hospital on the government's dime. That would be great. Again, these facilities are super expensive if you're paying out of pocket. Public health groups, including the Treatment Advocacy Center and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, as well as state Medicaid directors, support the change. Usually laws stall in the Senate where the legislative filibuster requiring 60 votes prevents the passage of legislation that actually helps Americans, but that might not be the case this time around. The Senate Finance Committee apparently approved a similar provision in November, so the prospects of its enactment are pretty good, you know, a little bit of good news here.

And this appears to genuinely be a bipartisan effort as well with the House legislation sponsored by Democrat Richie Torres and Republican Michael Burgess. So that's yet another sign that this might actually get through Congress. In fact, Torres was someone who spent time in a mental hospital for his own mental health struggle, something that I was unfamiliar with. I didn't know about that until researching for this story. Now, the impact of the 1965 rule barring Medicaid from paying for these services has been absolutely dire. So it has led to a lack of necessary psychiatric hospital beds. Vulnerable

low income Americans are ending up on the streets, in emergency rooms, in jail, or dead. Every year, the number of drug overdose deaths goes up. Literally 100,000 people dying every year from drug overdoses, this is a failed system. Obviously, we need to do better. The policy also perpetuates discrimination against people who suffer from drug addiction and mental illness compared to those of physical conditions, for which there's no such exclusion. Now, shockingly, Republicans appear to be more united on this issue than Democrats are, which is yet another terrible moment for a party that actually used to give a crap about vulnerable people. But increasingly, that doesn't seem to be the case.

I don't know if it's because they're hell bent on listening to these non-profits that like to dub themselves, you know, social justice groups. I don't know where the social justice is when you leave Americans on the streets to wither away and die, but I don't see any justice in that. So New Jersey representative Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce committee that shepherded the bill, resisted the change, wary of a return to institutionalizing people with mental illness instead of caring for them, get a load of this, in their homes. Caring for them in their homes, ideally with a team of specialized health and social workers.

Hey, Representative Polone, please explain to me, okay, explain to me how someone living on the from a severe drug addiction is supposed to get treatment in their home by a team of mental health professionals and social workers. Explain to me how that would work. He said, we know that one of the best ways to help people in recovery is to ensure they have access to care in their communities. Great, then give them access to care in their communities. And by the way, he ended up relenting. He ended up supporting the legislation. Luckily, Polone ultimately relented because Republicans agree agreed to improve Medicaid coverage for some incarcerated people with substance use disorder. But left-wing

advocates, and I'll never understand this, it makes no sense to me, seem to enjoy watching Americans waste away on the streets. Like this has been a radicalizing issue for me. Because everything that we hear from left-wingers about wanting to help their fellow Americans falls flat when they advocate for keeping them on the street so they could wither away and die. Like it's insane. Oh no, we don't want to use Medicaid funds to help people with severe drug addictions. Okay. Like Lewis Bossing, who's a senior staff attorney at the Baselon Center for Mental Health Law, here's what he has to say.

people have better outcomes in terms of reduced hospitalization rates, reduced criminal legal system involvement, increased employment, increased measures of social integration when they're served in the community. What does that mean, Lewis? What does that mean? You can't, you can't go to someone who has a severe drug addiction and be like, yo, you know what you need? You just need a job, here's a job for you. And I'm going to allow the community to deal with this. The community is going to take care of you. With what funds? This is an effort to provide the necessary funding for people suffering so they can get the treatment they need. Super expensive treatment, by the way, treatment that they can't pay for out of pocket. I don't

understand what the motivation is for people like Lewis bossing. But these statements make me insane. Because what ends up happening is nothing. Nothing ends up happening. Literally nothing ends up happening. The problem gets worse year after year, more and more people die. And these idiots give themselves a pat on the back because they think that they're fighting for justice. How exactly? How exactly is it fighting for justice to deny Medicaid reimbursement for treatment toward people who need treatment? I just can't stand it. Plus, a repeal of the funding wouldn't mean a return to the 1965 mental health care model because that is just not where the system is today. That's not where the clinical understanding is today. And that's not

where any of the conversation is today, said Jack Rawlins, the director of federal policy at the National Association of Medicaid Directors. Now luckily, some changes have been made, but it's not enough. So for instance, over the past decade, the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services has started allowing some states to use federal dollars to pay for care in mental health hospitals for a limited time for up to a month. 36 states now have a waiver to treat people with substance use disorder and a dozen states have a waiver for treating other mental illnesses in psychiatric hospitals. Even so, the system as it stands is failing to provide state of the art care to many patients. One third of the 1.5 million Medicaid enrollees,

With opioid use disorder, for example, did not receive medication treatment in 2021. And that is what they need. It is unfortunate, but medication treatment is a way to help people get off of dangerous and deadly opioids. And we are denying them that. And I don't know why we are denying them that. But that is a situation we're dealing with. And I think it's important for people to know about that reality. It makes me incredibly furious that we keep seeing our fellow Americans die year after year on our streets

because of what? Because it's considered inhumane to ensure that people are getting the treatment they need. Anyway, we got to take a break. When we come back, we have more news for you, including continued insider trading among our members of Congress. Stick around. I don't know.