Yesterday, the Israeli military unveiled that the six Israeli hostages who died in February were either killed by Hamas due to an impending airstrike, or they were killed by the airstrike itself. These hostages were being held in a tunnel in Khan Younis. [00:00:16] On February 14th, an Israeli airstrike hit near that tunnel. The hostages captors were found dead beside them. According to Israeli officials, Hamas operatives have orders to kill hostages if they feel endangered. [00:00:32] And this is from the Wall Street Journal. It says the Israeli military said it had no prior knowledge that the hostages were located in the tunnel when it carried out the February airstrike. Had such information been available, the strike would not have been carried out, the military said. [00:00:49] The Wall Street Journal reports that before the Israeli military presented their findings to the public, they spoke to the hostages families and asked them for forgiveness. The Hostages Families Forum, which represents many of the Israeli hostage families stated yesterday. [00:01:05] The findings of the investigation are more proof that military pressure is leading to the deaths of hostages. Bombing poses several risks to the hostages, as you can imagine, even if the actual explosions don't kill them, the bombs can release deadly gases. [00:01:22] Yuval Stubb, the younger brother of one of the hostages who was killed in February, said this even if the bullets of the terrorists are what killed them, in practice, they would have died from carbon monoxide poisoning. You can't separate between the bombing and the reason for their death. [00:01:38] Hostages will continue to die as long as there are hostages. And there is fighting going on there. Jordan, make it make sense. Isn't that the whole point of taking hostages? People who take hostages do it because they want some kind of bargaining tool. [00:01:54] It's meant to discourage the other side from doing whatever the hostage takers don't want them to do. And in this case, they want the bombings and the incursions into Palestinian land to stop. This didn't start on October 7th. We know that they didn't just take Israeli hostages for fun or for no reason. [00:02:10] This was all a response to the incursions that were already happening for decades in Gaza. It just feels so disconnected to be surprised that Hamas has orders to kill hostages if and when Israel threatens to attack them. What do you think about that? I mean, at first we have to lay out at the onset. [00:02:27] We can't just take what the Israeli military says at face value. They've lied before. They will lie again. So with that said, they lay out a couple different avenues for how these hostages could have been killed. All of them are tragic. Let's be clear here. [00:02:42] Like, I think every well-meaning person in this conversation, in this debate, in the broader advocacy space, whatever side you're on, I think everybody wants people who have nothing to do with this conflict to be safe. And with that said, when you lay out whether it was Hamas who killed him [00:02:59] or airstrikes or bombs, I don't know what seems more likely, the military that has been dropping bunker buster bombs on a densely populated area for a year straight. Were the people who need them for a bargaining chip? [00:03:17] Not saying that is right or moral or ethical, but seems more likely that the the military, who has killed 40,000 plus people, might have also killed some of these hostages in airstrikes. The point of all of this is to say we all want a ceasefire [00:03:35] and we want the return of hostages. Those should come hand in hand, and a deal that secures the safety and release of these hostages, while also protecting the remaining Gazans and their safety and security, should be celebrated by everybody who is certainly truly anti-war, [00:03:53] but also ultimately wants peace. The people who are standing in the way of that, and that includes the US government and the Israeli government and some elements of Hamas. I don't have sympathy for for anybody who is prolonging the suffering, and I think they only deserve our scorn. [00:04:09] Yeah, I think that's absolutely fair. And to that point we're going to pivot a little bit. The situation has become so dire that yesterday, Amnesty International accused Israel of committing a genocide that makes them the first international [00:04:24] human rights organization to do so. And it made that proclamation as part of a nearly 300 page report. According to The Guardian, Israel has committed prohibited acts under the Genocide Convention, namely killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting [00:04:43] on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in the territory, the report said. Amnesty cited the deliberate obstruction of aid and power supplies, [00:04:59] together with massive damage, destruction and displacement, leading to the collapse of water, sanitation, food and health care systems, and what it called a pattern of conduct within the context of the occupation and blockade of Gaza. [00:05:14] The Israeli chapter of Amnesty International publicly disagreed with the organization's charge of genocide. Not surprising. Not only that, but the chair of the chapter, as well as two board members resigned over the accusation. However, the chapter did make one concession. [00:05:32] They said there were nevertheless suspicions that Israel had committed widespread violations of international law that may amount to crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. So basically they were like, well, I guess we can see how someone might take it that way. [00:05:48] So it's not really much of a concession. Meanwhile, the carnage in Gaza continues in Gaza, at least 39 people were killed by Israeli fire in the preceding 24 hours, according to medics, including at least 20 who died [00:06:03] when an overnight airstrike set alight. Cooking gas canisters and tents housing a tent housing displaced families in what Israel has dubbed a humanitarian Sanitarian zone. Israel said the strike targeted senior Hamas operatives whom it did not identify. [00:06:19] Okay, so better late than never, I guess. They finally said the thing that the rest of us had been saying for over a year. We all saw it before they did. But good for them for getting it done. I understand that these things take time, and they did put together a giant report, 300 pages that said, Will anything change because of it? [00:06:37] Probably not. Will this report undo the thousands of Palestinians who have already been killed or displaced? Of course not. Will it restore their land to them? It's very unlikely. To be clear, I am glad that this report is out. The people who support Israel will continue to do so, though this isn't [00:06:54] going to change anything in that respect. Even the Israelis who work with Amnesty International could not admit to what was happening even after the report was out, but at least it's on the books now. There is something official about what's happening. Jordan, this just feels like one of those moments where people in air conditioned [00:07:11] buildings argue semantics over what qualifies as a genocide and what doesn't. And meanwhile people are literally having their lives destroyed in one way or another. How do you feel about this report coming out now? I mean, I think to your point, this takes time. [00:07:26] And this report was thorough. It was 300 pages. They investigated like dozens of just tragic, horrific incidents to get full Accountings of all of them. They looked at the scale of the conflict. I don't want to assign any, you know, and I'm not saying you're doing this, [00:07:44] but I think people I saw this a lot and maybe you did as well. People were saying, well, we already knew that. Well, yeah, but we don't have any institutional responsibility on our backs. Right? Like anybody, any of us can just tweet something calling it a genocide when we see it. It's different for a group with a legacy and a tradition [00:08:01] and an image like Amnesty International. But with that I think should come much more weight. But unfortunately, this barely even registered in legacy press the New York Times instead yesterday put out a push alert about a college student at Columbia [00:08:18] being suspended for protesting. Like, where are your priorities? Here? You are the paper of record. And you think a college student disciplinary action warrants a push alert to all of the people who have your app on their phone. Come on. What are we doing here? [00:08:34] We cannot turn a blind eye to this. We're talking about entire bloodlines being wiped out in Gaza beyond repair. Buildings, hospitals, schools, infrastructure totally destroyed. They're not going to get that back. [00:08:50] Their loved ones are not going to come back. And, you know, I made this point in a in a video for another outlet earlier today, but I think it bears repeating. A lot of people ask themselves and like to think that they'll do the right thing during times of moral crises or grave injustice, like, what would you [00:09:07] do during the civil rights movement? And a lot of people, I think, want to pat themselves on the back and say, oh, I would do this. Now's your time. This is the test. What are you doing in this moment? What are you doing to try to end the suffering? What side are you on? So if you really want to be judge and you really want to have a clear look [00:09:23] at your moral character, it's this issue right here, right now. Are you going to insult which I think most people in Congress will do? You're going to assault, criticize, attack, Amnesty International like they have done to the ICC, to the UN, or are you going to accept these findings and respond to them [00:09:40] and call for an end to this genocide? Yeah, it's definitely not a good look for the US government to now denounce Amnesty International, if that's what it plans to do. And you're right, I definitely agree that these institutions, [00:09:56] they do have a lot of weight behind them. And it is important that they are thorough with these things. Right. So I do agree that certain things do take time, and it's good that they do take the time to put together this giant report, because there's supposed to be some credibility behind it, right? Especially when you're talking in context of history. [00:10:15] A year isn't that long. I know a year is very long if you're suffering. I'm not trying to diminish that at all. But I'm saying in the context of history. You do have to kind of like zoom out a little bit before you get a full idea of what is happening on the ground, and be thorough about it. [00:10:31] As a matter of respect to the people who are going through all of it, in the meantime, you would hope that you know the governments are doing what they need to be doing to negotiate for something better, to end the hostilities that are occurring. All that you hope is happening. We're not really seeing as much of that as we would like. [00:10:47] And going forward with the new administration, I think things are going to. Well, I don't want to I don't want to speculate, but, you know, it is very scary what's going on over there. And the way out seems a little dire. Thanks for watching The Young Turks really appreciate it. Another way to show support is through YouTube memberships. [00:11:04] You'll get to interact with us more. There's live chat emojis, badges. You've got emojis of me Anna John Jr. So those are super fun. But you also get playback of our exclusive member only shows and specials right after they air. 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