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Jon Stewart Says Israel ‘Slaps America in the Face,’ Slams Biden for Not Being Tougher on Jewish State Over Gaza
Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show” on April 8, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
The Daily Show host Jon Stewart berated the Biden administration on Monday for condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine during the ongoing war between the two countries but failing to do the same with Israel and its military actions in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Stewart did a “wellness check” on the Israel-Hamas war, solely focusing on Gaza, in light of it being six months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel. “As the war has grinded on, justice is beginning to seem more like cruelty,” he said.
The Daily Show host then played clips of President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denouncing Russia’s attempts to target journalists, suppress freedom of the press, and weaponize food shortages against Ukrainians.
“Speaking of which, there is a literal famine in Gaza caused by the war. I assume America will also consider this unconscionable?” Stewart asked. “How about the free press? Ordinarily we are strongly in favor of free press. More journalists have been killed in Gaza in six months than anywhere else in the world, and a new Israeli law says they can ban media outlets they consider a threat.”
Stewart showed clips of Jean-Pierre and White House spokesperson John Kirby expressing only “concern” about Israel’s actions in Gaza and reports that Israel was considering banning the news network Al Jazeera for allegedly posing a threat to national security. The talk show host said that if the reports about Al Jazeera were true, then the US should “condemn it.”
Stewart then moved on to discuss what he called the “bedrock rule of international law” regarding forceful land seizures. He played a clip of Biden denouncing such behavior by Russia.
“You might say Israel’s war is different [from] Ukraine’s — Israel is responding to an attack and hostage crisis. But in the midst of that, they pulled a little something in the West Bank on March 22 that might be notable,” Stewart said, referring to the Israeli government’s appropriation of land in the West Bank.
“That’s not even Gaza. That’s the West Bank. So you can’t say this has anything to do with defending yourself against Hamas. Let’s see if America upholds its rule against taking land,” Stewart said.
“Why do we tiptoe around on eggshells?” the frustrated talk show host exclaimed. “They [Israel] slap America in the face and our response is, ‘Well, if anyone slapped us in the face, it’d be concerning, that’s for sure. I mean, raising a hand to a delicate body part of the face, if true.’ The verbal gymnastics that the American government must undertake so as not to offend the delicate sensibilities of a country we provide most of the weapons for is yarghhhhh!”
“Every time America tells the world that there’s something we won’t allow, Israel seems to say, ‘challenge accepted.’ Are they willfully trying to provoke us?” Stewart added. “Or perhaps they’re just reading our principles from right to left?”
Steward ended by criticizing Biden’s response to the death toll in Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
“What the f–k are we doing here? The subtext of all this is America knows this is wrong. But apparently, it doesn’t seem to have the courage to say it in a straightforward manner,” he added. “You cannot bomb your way into safety. And after this recent week, with so much horror, perhaps America finally finds the need for a new approach with Israel with more justice and less cruelty.”
Analyses of casualty figures coming out of Gaza indicate the Hamas-controlled health authorities there systematically overcount civilian casualties and undercount terrorist combatants who were killed.
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IDF Denies Troops Fired on Civilians After Incidents of Settler Violence
Illustrative. Israeli troops during counterterrorism activity in Tulkarem, northwestern Samaria, September 2024. Photo: IDF.
i24 News – The IDF released a statement after an incident during which Israeli soldiers opened fire on Israeli civilians in the West Bank on Saturday night, denying that the trooped fired live ammunition.
This comes at the heels of arson incidents by settlers against Palestinian villages, with clashes breaking out. The IDF said that its soldiers had come under attack on Friday as they entered the area of Kafr Malik, the site of the disturbances, by Israeli civilians. “The undermining of the rule of law and the use of violence by a radical minority harm security and stability in the area.”
The IDF later said that “an initial investigation indicates that IDF forces did not fire live ammunition at Israeli civilians in the area. It should be clarified that the battalion commander’s force operating in the Baal Hatzor area of the Binyamin brigade did not fire live ammunition at all.” On the other hand, the civilians claimed this was false, posting a video that showed shell casings on the ground right next to where the troops were deployed.
Meanwhile, the police requested the remand of six individuals, two of whom are minors, to be extended in connection with the incident.
The IDF later said that, “in another area within the sector, stones were thrown at a military vehicle near the site of the clash by masked individuals from an ambush. The force responded with a warning shot of three bullets.” A possible connection “between this incident and the claim that an Israeli civilian was injured by live fire” is being investigated.
After the incidents late last week, the IDF issued an unusual directive for soldiers to exercise special vigilance and also prepare for scenarios involving nationalist incidents perpetrated by Israeli citizens. The directive was issued after a military vehicle was set on fire inside a Jewish settlement, the tires of an armored David vehicle were punctured, and a community policing caravan near the community of Beit El was also set on fire.
“The security establishment system is highly alert,” a security official told i24NEWS. “We are seeing an escalation on the ground – and if you cannot leave a military vehicle in a Jewish community without it being burned in the sector, it is a sign that the situation is dangerous.”
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Israel Orders Evacuations in Northern Gaza as Trump Calls for War to End
US President Donald Trump speaks during a swearing-in ceremony of Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
The Israeli military ordered Palestinians to evacuate areas in northern Gaza on Sunday before intensified fighting against Hamas, as US President Donald Trump called for an end to the war amid renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire.
“Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold talks later in the day on the progress of Israel’s offensive. A senior security official said the military will tell him the campaign is close to reaching its objectives, and warn that expanding fighting to new areas in Gaza may endanger the remaining Israeli hostages.
But in a statement posted on X and text messages sent to many residents, the military urged people in northern parts of the enclave to head south towards the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, which Israel designated as a humanitarian area. Palestinian and U.N. officials say nowhere in Gaza is safe.
“The (Israeli) Defense Forces is operating with extreme force in these areas, and these military operations will escalate, intensify, and extend westward to the city center to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organizations,” the military said.
The evacuation order covered the Jabalia area and most Gaza City districts. Medics and residents said the Israeli army’s bombardments escalated in the early hours in Jabalia, destroying several houses and killing at least six people.
At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, relatives arrived to pay their respects to white-shrouded bodies before they are buried.
“A month ago, they (Israel) told us to go to Al-Mawasi (in Khan Younis) and we stayed there for a month, it is a safe zone,” said Zeyad Abu Marouf. He said three of his children were killed and a fourth was wounded in the Israeli airstrike.
“We ask God and the Arabs to move and end this occupation and the injustice taking place against us,” Abu Marouf told Reuters.
NEW CEASEFIRE PUSH
The military escalation comes as Arab mediators, Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, begin a new ceasefire effort to halt the 20-month-old conflict and secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages still being held by Hamas.
Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has heightened following US and Israeli bombings of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
There has also been rising concern over how aid is being distributed to Gazans in the ruined enclave. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed over the past month in the vicinity of areas where food was being handed out, local hospitals and officials have said.
A Hamas official told Reuters the group had informed the mediators it was ready to resume ceasefire talks, but reaffirmed the group’s outstanding demands that any deal must end the war and secure an Israeli withdrawal from the coastal territory.
Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive, only in a deal that will end the war. Israel says it can only end the war if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms.
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Russia Launches Largest Drone Attack Yet Against Ukraine, Kills F-16 Pilot
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 10, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
i24 News – Ukraine’s Air Force said that Russia launched 537 drones and missiles against targets throughout Ukraine overnight between Saturday and Sunday, in what what described as the largest attack of the war.
Poland activated aerial defenses and scrambled jets as the six-hour onslaught continued. One Ukrainian F-16 pilot was killed as Kyiv attempted to intercept the missiles and drones, with 475 shot down.
“Tragically, while repelling the attack, our F-16 pilot, Maksym Ustymenko, died. Today, he destroyed seven aerial targets,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“Ustymenko did everything possible, but his jet was damaged and started losing altitude,” the air force said, as quoted in Politico. “He died like a hero!”
The cities of Cherkasy, Lviv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Kyiv were targeted.
The Russia attack came after Ukraine attacked the Kirovske airfield in the Crimean Peninsula, targeting air defenses, drones, and even destroying several helicopters and an air defense system.
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