The Palestinian Health Ministry says all hospitals in northern Gaza are now out of service amid repeated assaults by Israeli forces on medical centers. The World Health Organization said it was working to evacuate remaining patients from Al-Shifa, the largest hospital in the besieged Palestinian territory, along with the Indonesian and Al-Ahli hospitals. Hundreds of patients — many of them injured in Israeli strikes — remain trapped in medical centers which have effectively ceased functioning. A WHO official in Geneva said Israel’s assault is “robbing the entire population of the north of the means to seek healthcare.”

There’s been no letup in Israel’s bombing campaign. In one of the latest attacks, at least 20 Palestinians were killed when Israeli forces bombed the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Palestinian officials say more than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes — over 5,000 of them children. On Monday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres marked World Children’s Day, the U.N.’s annual day of action for children, with a call to stop the carnage.

Secretary-General António Guterres: “What is clear is that we have had in a few weeks thousands of children killed. So this is what matters. We are witnessing a killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented in any conflict since I am secretary-general.”

The chairman of the Gaza Press House has been killed by Israel’s military. Belal Jadallah was heading to the south of the Gaza Strip when he was killed by an Israeli tank shell in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City. Belal Jadallah was known as the “Godfather” of Palestinian journalism. He helped train generations of reporters and welcomed foreign correspondents to the Gaza Strip.

In northern Gaza, 27-year-old digital content and podcast presenter Ayat Khaddura has reportedly been killed along with her family in an Israeli airstrike. This is one of her last video reports.

Ayat Khaddura: “We’re separated, of course. I and a few others remain at home, while the rest have evacuated, and we don’t know where they went. The situation is very scary. The situation is very terrifying. What is happening is very difficult. May God have mercy on us.”

In southern Lebanon, two journalists with the Beirut-based TV channel Al Mayadeen have been killed in an Israeli airstrike. The network says camera operator Rabih Al-Me’mari and correspondent Farah Omar were deliberately targeted by an Israeli warplane after reporting on the latest Israeli bombardment of south Lebanon. A third civilian traveling with them was also killed in the attack.

At least 50 journalists and media workers, most of them Palestinian, have been killed in the region since October 7. We’ll have more on this story after headlines.

The Palestinian poet and author Mosab Abu Toha has been released, following his abduction by Israeli soldiers while trying to leave the Gaza Strip with his family. Abu Toha had been heading to the southern Rafah border crossing when he was seized by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint. His family had not heard from him until Tuesday. Mosab Abu Toha is an author, columnist, teacher and founder of the Edward Said Library in Gaza. Click here to see our recent interview with him, and we’ll have more on his abduction later in the broadcast.

In Jerusalem, far-right members of Israeli’s parliament on Monday got into a shouting match with family members of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza. Lawmakers were debating a bill to impose the death penalty on “terrorists.” The bill was advanced by Israel’s ultranationalist national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who was once convicted by an Israeli court of racist incitement against Palestinians and supporting a terrorist group. Family members condemned the death penalty bill, saying it endangered efforts to win the release of their abducted relatives. This is Udi Goren, whose cousin is being held captive in Gaza.

Udi Goren: “This is incredibly disappointing, because I feel that at this point, when we know that taking down Hamas, we keep hearing from them, is going to take months or years, and it’s going to take a long time; on the other hand, the other objective is time-sensitive. People are dying. We know that for sure.”
One hostage family member yelled at Ben-Gvir in the Knesset session, “You care more about killing Arabs than saving Jewish lives.”

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reports Qatar-brokered talks for a deal that would see Hamas release some of its hostages in exchange for a three- to five-day pause in fighting are at a “critical and final stage.” Hamas officials said they were “close to reaching a truce agreement.”

The White House has pushed back after the Center for Constitutional Rights sued President Biden, accusing him of failing to prevent genocide in the Gaza Strip. On Monday, White House spokesperson John Kirby called the allegations “pretty inappropriate” and said only Hamas has genocidal intentions, not Israel’s government.

John Kirby: “Yes, there are too many civilian casualties in Gaza. Yes, the numbers are too high. Yes, too many families are grieving. And, yes, we continue to urge the Israelis to be as careful and cautious as possible. That’s not going to stop, from the president right on down. But Israel is not trying to wipe the Palestinian people off the map. Israel is not trying to wipe Gaza off the map. Israel is trying to defend itself against a genocidal terrorist threat.”

Those remarks from the White House came as Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon became just the second senator to demand a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, joining Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin. Merkley wrote, “By waging a war that generates a shocking level of civilian carnage rather than a targeted campaign against Hamas, Israel is burning through its reserves of international support. Too many civilians and too many children have died, and we must value each and every child equally whether they are Israeli or Palestinian.”

In Seattle, hundreds of people blocked the main entrance of the Space Needle observation tower Sunday in a Jewish-led peaceful act of civil disobedience calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Protesters flew a 40-foot-tall banner that read “Ceasefire Now!” in the air buoyed by large balloons. They’re demanding Washington Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both Democrats, join growing congressional calls for a ceasefire. The action was organized by the Seattle chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace.

A federal appeals panel has blocked individuals and civil rights groups, such as the NAACP, from suing to enforce the Voting Rights Act — granting that authority solely to the U.S. government. Voting rights advocates warn Monday’s 2-1 decision by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals could further erode the landmark 1965 law, weakening provisions that protect Black and other voters of color from racial discrimination. The majority decision was written by Judge David Stras, who was appointed by Donald Trump. The ruling stems from a gerrymandering case in Arkansas in which the state chapter of the NAACP accused Arkansas of restricting voting access to Black citizens. Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, who argued the case, slammed the decision as a “travesty for democracy,” saying the ruling “has put the Voting Rights Act in jeopardy, tossing aside critical protections that voters fought and died for.” The ruling is expected to be challenged and could head to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In Ohio, four people were injured and left hospitalized Monday evening after a man walked into a Walmart in the city of Beavercreek and opened fire with an assault rifle. Police say the shooter then died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. It’s the same Walmart store where in 2014 a 22-year-old African American man named John Crawford was shot and killed by a police officer after a caller phoned 911 to accuse him of brandishing a gun and pointing it at other customers. In fact, Crawford had picked up an unloaded BB air rifle on a shelf. The white police officer who fatally shot John Crawford was acquitted by an Ohio grand jury. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been over 600 mass shootings across the U.S. so far this year — a record pace.

In Sweden, labor unions are continuing their blockade against Tesla in response to Elon Musk’s electric car manufacturer’s refusal to sign a collective bargaining agreement for higher wages and better working conditions with its mechanics. Dockworkers at dozens of Swedish ports have refused to unload Tesla cars from ships. Meanwhile, electricians stopped repair work at Tesla’s charging stations. Swedish postal workers have also joined the strike, halting the delivery and collection of mail at all Tesla sites in Sweden. The strike began in late October, impacting at least 12 of Tesla’s service centers in Sweden. This comes as the United Auto Workers union looks to organize Tesla plants here in the United States, following their successful strike against the Big Three U.S. automakers.

In Nairobi, Kenya, delegates from several fossil fuel-producing countries backed by a network of plastics industry trade groups have stalled talks on a global treaty to curb plastic waste. Representatives from around 150 countries to the U.N.-brokered talks failed to reach an agreement after countries including Saudi Arabia and Russia pushed for more plastic recycling, rather than limits to plastic production. This is Graham Forbes, head of Greenpeace’s delegation in Nairobi.

Graham Forbes: “The reality is that we’ve only recycled about 9% of the plastic that’s ever been produced. We cannot recycle our way out of this problem. And so what Greenpeace is calling for is cutting plastic production and accelerating a reuse-based economy. We expect the negotiations to finance, create standards and accelerate reuse at a global scale.”