Opening humanitarian passages were a ceasefire. Amy as he Biden Administration expresses concern for division civilian casualties in gaza, a new investigation finds the white house has flooded israel with more than 100 separate weapon sales, almost all without congressional approval. Well speak with former state Department Official josh paul who oversaw foreign arms sales and resigned in protest over u. S. Support for israels assault on gaza. We will also get the latest on ceasefire talks that remain at an impasse days before the muslim holy month of ramadan begins. And we go to pakistan where Shehbaz Sharif was sworn in as Prime Minister for a second time amid protests and accusations of election rigging. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. A Gaza Ceasefire before the start of ramadan and peers appears increasingly unlikely after talks ended in cairo without an agreement. Hamas says negotiations will continue. Israel reportedly boycotted the recent talks. The official death toll in gaza has topped 30,800 in the five months since israels assault began. At least another 72,000 palestinians have been wounded. The Group Refugees international is warning israels persistent blocking of humanitarian aid into gaza has created apocalyptic conditions inside the besieged territory. At least 20 gazans have starved to death. The youngest victim day old. , a as several countries have started conducting air drops into gaza, the World Food Program cautioned, airdrops are a last resort and will not avert famine. This is a soup kitchen volunteer in rafah. Our hearts are being squeezed when a child comes over and says, i want to have rice and chicken. We are unable to provide rice, let alone chicken. This is not only a war civilians, it is a war on food, starvation. We cannot find bread to eat. And because south africa has amy south africa has requested the International Court of justice take additional emergency measures in gaza, including ordering a ceasefire. South africa, which brought the genocide case against israel at the icj, said, the threat of allout famine has now materialized. The court needs to act now to stop the imminent tragedy. Canada says it will resume funding to unrwa after it halted support for the u. N. Agency in january following israeli claims 12 unrwa staff were involved in the october 7 attacks. 16 countries suspended their funding for the agency, ringing ringing it close to collapse amid a spiraling humanitarian disaster in gaza. A new investigation by the Washington Post reveals the Biden Administration has quietly approved over 100 weapons sales to israel while publicly calling for restraint and decrying the mounting civilian death toll. We will have more on that story later in the broadcast. U. S. Military officials said wednesday a Houthi Missile attack on a commercial ship in the gulf of aden killed at least three people. Its the first known deaths as a result of the houthi campaign against israel and u. S. Linked vessels. The ship that was attacked appears to have been barbadosflagged, greeceoperated, and liberiaowned. U. S. And u. K. Forces have launched multiple attacks inside yemen since the houthi strikes started in protest of israels war on gaza. Here in new york, a delegation of palestinianamericans who have lost relatives in gaza joined u. N. Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour at a Security Council press conference wednesday. This is dr. Rula elafarra, who lost over 150 family members to since october 7. In december, one of our family members was murdered in his home by an israeli airstrike with his nine young children. His unfortunate wife survived. She was eight months pregnant. She was displaced to an evacuation cap where she gave birth to her baby boy one month later in january. Her newborn infant died 20 days later from the cold and harsh conditions in the camps. Every minute signifies the loss of a life, starvation of a child. We need an immediate end permanent, not temporary, permanent ceasefire now. Amy in washington, d. C. , activists have set up a protest in front of the Israeli Embassy. Israeliamerican activist miko peled says the protest has disrupted Embassy Business and is calling on more people to join the action until the embassy is forced to shut down. Palestinian flags have clearly taken over the other flag that is being flown here. The flag of hope is clearly taking over the flag of hate and apartheid. This is the apartheid embassy. Look at all this. It is brilliant. As far as the eye can see. Amy the son of a famous israeli general. In austin, texas, multiple musical acts have pulled out of the south by southwest festival over its ties to the u. S. Military and military contractors including rtx corporation, formerly known as raytheon. Rtx supplies weapons to israel. Outside the United States, brazils central workers union, which represents over 7. 4 million workers, has called on the brazilian government to cancel all military cooperation with israel. In canada, Rights Groups are suing the Global Affairs ministry for exporting military goods and technology to israel during its assault on gaza. In ukraine, a russian attack on the port city of odesa killed at least five people according to the ukrainian navy. The strike came as president Volodymyr Zelenskyy was taking greek Prime MinisterKyriakos Mitsotakis on a tour of the warravaged city where 12 people, including children, were killed in a drone attack last week. The greek Prime Minister spoke after wednesdays attack, which the two leaders heard as they were getting into their cars following the tour. And i think this is one more reason why all european leaders should come to ukraine because it is one thing to hear the description from the mass media or president zelenskyy, with whom you regularly communicate, and it is completely different to experience the war firsthand. Amy in russia, yulia navalnaya, the widow of the late Opposition Leader alexei navalny, is urging voters to protest president Vladimir Putin at the polls in the march 17 election. We need to use the election date to show we exist and there are many of us. We are real, live, we are against putin. We need to come to the polling station at the same day and time. It is up to you to choose what to do next. You can vote for any candidate but putin. You can write on it in big letters, navalny. Amy the miami herald is reporting the Biden Administration is pressuring haitis unelected Prime Minister ariel henry to resign amid an armed uprising against his rule. According to a u. S. Document obtained by the herald, the Biden Administration has proposed henry to step down in the near future. The state department pushed back on the report, but the u. N. Ambassador linda thomas greenfield confirmed the u. S. Has asked henry to form a Transitional Council that would involve the appointment of a new Prime Minister. Over the past three years, the u. S. Has been a key backer of henry, who is deeply popular in haiti. Last week, henry visited kenya to discuss a plan to send 1000 International Police officers to haiti. Henry is now in puerto rico unable to safely return home. Nikki haley suspended her president ial Campaign Wednesday after losing all but vermont to donald trump on super tuesday. Haley declined to endorse trump, or any other candidate, as she announced the end of her campaign. In all likelihood, donald trump will be the republican nominee when our Party Convention meets in july. I congratulate him and wish him well. It is now up to donald trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him. And i hope he does that. Amy President Biden made a pitch to haleys supporters, saying i know there is a lot we wont agree on. But on the fundamental issues of preserving american democracy, on standing up for the rule of law, on treating each other with decency and dignity and respect, on preserving nato and standing up to americas adversaries, i hope and believe we can find common ground. On capitol hill, Senate Republican leader mitch mcconnell, who is leaving his leadership post in november, endorsed donald trump. In 2021, mcconnell said trump was morally and practically responsible for the january 6 insurrection and called trumps actions a disgraceful dereliction of duty. In more related news, the Supreme Court has set april 25 as the date to hear arguments over whether trump is immune from criminal prosecution for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss. President biden will deliver his state of the Union Address tonight before a joint session of congress. Biden is expected to call for increasing taxes on billionaires and corporations. First lady dr. Jill bidens guests include uaw president shawn fein and the Prime Minister of sweden. Numerous lawmakers are inviting relatives of hostages held in gaza. Congressmember cori bush is bringing dr. Intimaa salama, a palestinian dentist and graduate student from st. Louis university who has lost 35 relatives in israels assault on gaza. Republican Congressmember Thomas Massie has invited the brother of julian assange, the imprisoned wikileaks editor who is facing u. S. Extradition and if found guilty in u. S. Court, 175 years in jail he could have to serve. Senator tim kaine is bringing elizabeth carr, the first woman born by ivf in the United States. And Republican HouseSpeaker Mike Johnson has invited the parents of evan gershkovich, the wall street journal reporter imprisoned in russia. Alabama republican governor kay ivey signed into law a bill protecting invitro fertilization clinics and doctors from lawsuits and prosecution. Lawmakers scrambled to pass the legislation after the alabama Supreme Court ruled last month frozen embryos have the same rights as children, sending shock waves through the medical community. At least three clinics suspended treatments in alabama in response to the ruling. Two of those said they will now resume treatment. Reproductive rights advocates cautioned the new law does not fully resolve the issue as it does not address whether a frozen embryo can be considered a child. To see our segments on ivf, go to democracynow. Org. France became the first country in the world to enshrine the right to abortion in its constitution. Following the 780to72 vote, the eiffel tower was lit up with the phrase my body my choice. Abortion has been legal in france since 1975, but lawmakers decided to take the additional step in direct response to the u. S. Supreme court overturning roe v. Wade in 2022. This is leftist lawmaker mathilde panot. We are celebrating a historic victory. Our vote is a promise to the future. Never will our children, grandchildren, great rain children have to relive the torment that preceded them. It is a promise to all women around the world, we are fighting for the right to have control over their bodies in argentina, United States, italy, hungary, poland. This vote tells them their fight is ours and this victory is theirs. Amy new york governor kathy hocul has announced a plan to deploy 1000 members of the National Guard and state police to patrol new york city subway stations and to check bags of passengers. New York Civil Liberties Union head Donna Lieberman condemned to Mental Health care. And in new mexico, a jury found Hannah Gutierrez reed, the weapons handler on the film rust, guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter for the 2022 killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins by a loaded prop gun. Jurors agreed that gutierrez reed, whose father is a prominent armorer in hollywood, displayed willful disregard for the safety of others. She faces up to 18 months in prison. Alec baldwin, who fired the gun during a rehearsal, is the star and a producer of rust. He will face his own manslaughter trial in july. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Nermeen and im nermeen shaikh. Welcome to all of our listeners and viewers across the country and around the world. A hamas delegation in cairo for ceasefire talks has left egypt, accusing israel of forging thwarting efforts to reach a deal but that talks would resume next week. Senior hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told reuters that israel is insisting on rejecting israels assault on gaza, ensuring the entry of aid, and facilitating the return of displaced palestinians back to their homes in gaza. Negotiators from hamas, qatar, and egypt but not israel were in cairo trying to secure a 40day ceasefire in time for the muslim holy month of ramadan, which begins early next week. With the talks at an impasse and set to resume next week, that unofficial deadline for a deal appears highly unlikely. Amy on tuesday, President Biden urged a to accept the terms on the table and claimed a rational offer had been made for ceasefire in exchange for the release of israeli hostages. He told reporters its in the hands of hamas right now. If we get to the circumstance that it continues to ramadan, its going be very dangerous. As the talks have been underway, israel has continued its relentless bombardment of gaza. Killing over 80 people in the last 24 hours. The death toll after nearly five months of the assault is at least 30,800 killed and nearly 73,000 wounded. Meanwhile, hunger has reached catastrophic levels as a result of israels siege. At least 20 palestinians have died from malnutrition and dehydration according to the health ministry. For more, we are joined by tahani mustafa, senior palestine analyst at the International Crisis group. Shes normally based in ramallah in the occupied west bank, but is joining as today from qatar she is attending a symposium. Welcome to democracy now can you start off by talking about the situation on the ground and these ceasefire talks . Hamas is saying israel sabotage the talks and hamas has left cairo. Then we are getting word that some negotiations are still underway. Negotiations at the moment are very precarious. We have seen the ceasefire deal being offered by israel and the u. S. By the what can unilaterally come up with conditions it appears to be politically calculated move so they can essentially point the plaintiff at hamas if it fails. What we have seen what has been offered is they offer very little to both hamas and gaza. Theres no guarantee in terms of aid. Israel is already climbing there allowing sufficient amount of aid, contrary to what human rights organizations are saying. We have already seen they are hamas and gazans, they see it as a positive killing machine where hamas has ever hostages, surrenders, and the killing machine resumes. Nermeen could you explain why what is remarkable about the talks, israel is refusing to participate in the talks that were held in caressing hamas must provide a list of elderly and sick hostages that would be the first to be released. Can you explain what the obstacles are too revealing such a list and why hamas is hesitant to do so . Is not necessarily hesitancy, it is the difficulty in terms of trying to how many are alive. There could very well be hostages being held captive by other groups. Given the difficulty in terms of movement due to the it has made it difficult to gather any concrete numbers, especially in terms of how many are actually alive. It is more the logistics of being able to provide proper list that is Holding Hamas back. Nermeen what are the risks of an agreement not being reac hed next week . There were concerns israel would go ahead with its rafah invasion. Next week marks the beginning of ramadan. For the last couple of years, we have seen ramadan has been a provocative time. It had everything to do with provocations and East Jerusalem. If we dont see, which we are most likely not going to end up saying, ceasefire or some kind of pause before ramadan, given the escalation of violence, this could be catastrophic. Not just for gaza in terms of what is looming invasion of rafah, which israeli analysts are warning not if but when, in East Jerusalem where israel has so far claimed it is not going to limit access but weve seen in the past it has done that. It has been arbitrary in terms of that time and tradition they put in terms of limitation on access. How that has led, especially in the last two years, the escalation of violence. Amy in the next segment, were going to talk more extensive about this Washington Post expose that says the u. S. Has flooded israel quietly with about 100 weapons