Is Israel running out of goodwill?
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 19 December 2023
⏱️ 26 minutes
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Summary
U.S. support of Israel’s war in Gaza has been unwavering – but as the civilian death toll climbs, international calls for a ceasefire are growing. Today, the mounting concern over Israel’s tactics and how the Biden administration is responding.
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Nearly 20,000 Palestinians have been killed and millions displaced since Israel declared war on Hamas in Gaza. Conditions for people in Gaza are incredibly hard. Food is scarce, the health infrastructure is collapsing, and the death toll continues to climb – which some arms experts say is due in part to the Israeli government’s use of “unguided ‘dumb bombs.’”
Today, foreign correspondent Louisa Loveluck talks with host Martine Powers about a shift in U.S. rhetoric and whether it could make an impact on the conflict.
Today’s show was produced by Jordan-Marie Smith and edited by Ted Muldoon. Thanks to Monica Campbell, Rennie Svirnovskiy, Sabby Robinson and Jesse Mesner-Hage.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here. Stay up-to-date with the live update feed on Israel and Gaza here.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | In the two months since Israel declared war against Hamas, nearly 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza. |
| 0:10.0 | The United States stands with Israel. |
| 0:15.0 | We will not ever fail to have their back. |
| 0:20.0 | And while President Biden and other world leaders have expressed their unwavering support for Israel, |
| 0:26.0 | they're starting to be a subtle shift in how they're talking about this war. |
| 0:30.0 | Last week, Biden warned that Israel is beginning to lose support around the world. |
| 0:35.2 | I think that we have made it clear to the Israelis and they're aware that the |
| 0:41.8 | independent, the safety of innocent Palestinians is still of great concern. |
| 0:47.0 | And so the actions they're taking |
| 0:50.0 | must be consistent with attempting to do everything possible to prevent innocent Palestinian civilians |
| 0:57.1 | from being hurt, murdered, killed, lost, etc. But as the death toll in Gaza lost center. |
| 1:03.0 | But as the death toll in Gaza continues to climb, |
| 1:06.6 | will these new calls for restraint have any effect? Act. |
| 1:15.7 | From the Newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. |
| 1:18.9 | I'm your host, Martine Powers, and it's Tuesday, December 19th. Today I'm talking with my colleague |
| 1:24.9 | Louisa Lovelock who's been covering the Warren Gaza. We'll hear from her about |
| 1:29.1 | the latest on the continuing humanitarian crisis and the growing criticism that Israel has gone too far. So Louisa, what is your sense of what it is like on the ground in Gaza and how have things |
| 1:48.0 | been unfolding there? |
| 1:50.0 | In the sense we get from all our reporting is that the situation for civilians in Gaza right now is truly hellish. |
| 1:56.0 | You have roughly 2 million people who have been displaced, tens of thousands of wounded, |
| 2:01.0 | and there really is no safe place to go. |
| 2:05.0 | And what is it like for people who are trying to survive there? |
... |
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