Gaza update

Sam Smith -  To call criticism of Israel's attacks in Gaza as antisemitism is like calling attacks on Donald Trump  anti-American.

Ralph Nader - The Pro-Israeli marchers in Washington demanded the release of 240 hostages. They forgot about 8000 hostages in Israeli prisons for years without charges. Many are youngsters and women, kidnapped to extort information from their extended families in the West Bank and Gaza.

Hamas agrees to tentative deal to free dozens of hostages, pending Israel’s approval

More than 200 medical personnel have been killed since the war started. Their colleagues say there's been no time to mourn. In that spirit, doctors shared details about the lives that were lost. Read more... 

On Up First, NPR's Tamara Keith says Biden's strategy is to publicly stand by Israel while privately delivering tough advice. She says the president said it was a "big mistake" for Israel to think they could occupy and maintain Gaza. 

NPR's Lauren Frayer reports that Israel allowed fuel into Gaza for the first time yesterday. But the U.N. says it's not even 10% of what Gazans need every day

Obama, Warren, Sanders: Former Staffers Are Calling on Their Bosses to Demand a Ceasefire

Shelling intensified across Lebanon’s frontier with Israel on Thursday, with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah saying it had fired missiles at eight positions across the border and Israel saying it had retaliated with artillery... In statements throughout the day, the Iran-backed Hezbollah said it had hit eight sites in Israel, including a group of Israeli soldiers, a barracks and other military posts....A Lebanese security source said Israeli bombardment, including drone strikes, hit at least a dozen villages all along Lebanon’s southern border, Reuters reports.

Israeli commandos are searching through every building and every floor of Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital while hundreds of patients and medical staff remain in the complex, an Israeli military official said on Thursday. “The operation is shaped by our understanding that there is well-hidden terrorist infrastructure in the complex,” the official said, declining to be named, according to Reuters.

France has condemned violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, calling it a “policy of terror” aimed at displacing Palestinians and urging Israeli authorities to protect Palestinians from the violence.

The UN high commissioner for human rights has said the killing of civilians in Gaza cannot be dismissed as “collateral damage”, while calling for a ceasefire based on humanitarian and human rights grounds.

A group of UN experts said there was “evidence of increasing genocidal incitement” against the Palestinian people in what it said were “grave violations” committed by Israel, Reuters reports.

US Capitol police officers in riot gear clashed with dozens of demonstrators who gathered outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington on Wednesday evening to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. The protest was organized by three advocacy groups and held in an area near the US Capitol. Lawmakers who were inside the DNC building said police had evacuated them from the area.