SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
");background-position:center;background-size:19px 19px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-color:#222;padding:0;width:var(--form-elem-height);height:var(--form-elem-height);font-size:0;}:is(.js-newsletter-wrapper, .newsletter_bar.newsletter-wrapper) .widget__body:has(.response:not(:empty)) :is(.widget__headline, .widget__subheadline, #mc_embed_signup .mc-field-group, #mc_embed_signup input[type="submit"]){display:none;}:is(.grey_newsblock .newsletter-wrapper, .newsletter-wrapper) #mce-responses:has(.response:not(:empty)){grid-row:1 / -1;grid-column:1 / -1;}.newsletter-wrapper .widget__body > .snark-line:has(.response:not(:empty)){grid-column:1 / -1;}:is(.grey_newsblock .newsletter-wrapper, .newsletter-wrapper) :is(.newsletter-campaign:has(.response:not(:empty)), .newsletter-and-social:has(.response:not(:empty))){width:100%;}.newsletter-wrapper .newsletter_bar_col{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;justify-content:center;align-items:center;gap:8px 20px;margin:0 auto;}.newsletter-wrapper .newsletter_bar_col .text-element{display:flex;color:var(--shares-color);margin:0 !important;font-weight:400 !important;font-size:16px !important;}.newsletter-wrapper .newsletter_bar_col .whitebar_social{display:flex;gap:12px;width:auto;}.newsletter-wrapper .newsletter_bar_col a{margin:0;background-color:#0000;padding:0;width:32px;height:32px;}.newsletter-wrapper .social_icon:after{display:none;}.newsletter-wrapper .widget article:before, .newsletter-wrapper .widget article:after{display:none;}#sFollow_Block_0_0_2_0_0_0_1{margin:0;}#sSHARED_-_Social_Desktop_0_0_11_0_0_1.row-wrapper{margin:40px auto;}#sBoost_post_0_0_0_0_0_0_1_0{background-color:#000;color:#fff;}.boost-post{--article-direction:column;--min-height:none;--height:auto;--padding:24px;--titles-width:calc(100% - 84px);--image-fit:cover;--image-pos:right;--photo-caption-size:12px;--photo-caption-space:20px;--headline-size:23px;--headline-space:18px;--subheadline-size:13px;--text-size:12px;--oswald-font:"Oswald", Impact, "Franklin Gothic Bold", sans-serif;--cta-position:center;overflow:hidden;margin-bottom:0;--lora-font:"Lora", sans-serif !important;}.boost-post:not(:empty):has(.boost-post-article:not(:empty)){min-height:var(--min-height);}.boost-post *{box-sizing:border-box;float:none;}.boost-post .posts-custom .posts-wrapper:after{display:none !important;}.boost-post article:before, .boost-post article:after{display:none !important;}.boost-post article .row:before, .boost-post article .row:after{display:none !important;}.boost-post article .row .col:before, .boost-post article .row .col:after{display:none !important;}.boost-post .widget__body:before, .boost-post .widget__body:after{display:none !important;}.boost-post .photo-caption:after{content:"";width:100%;height:1px;background-color:#fff;}.boost-post .body:before, .boost-post .body:after{display:none !important;}.boost-post .body :before, .boost-post .body :after{display:none !important;}.boost-post__bottom{--article-direction:row;--titles-width:350px;--min-height:346px;--height:315px;--padding:24px 86px 24px 24px;--image-fit:contain;--image-pos:right;--headline-size:36px;--subheadline-size:15px;--text-size:12px;--cta-position:left;}.boost-post__sidebar:not(:empty):has(.boost-post-article:not(:empty)){margin-bottom:10px;}.boost-post__in-content:not(:empty):has(.boost-post-article:not(:empty)){margin-bottom:40px;}.boost-post__bottom:not(:empty):has(.boost-post-article:not(:empty)){margin-bottom:20px;}@media (min-width: 1024px){#sSHARED_-_Social_Desktop_0_0_11_0_0_1_1{padding-left:40px;}}.donation_banner{position:relative;background:#000;}.donation_banner .posts-custom *, .donation_banner .posts-custom :after, .donation_banner .posts-custom :before{margin:0;}.donation_banner .posts-custom .widget{position:absolute;inset:0;}.donation_banner__wrapper{position:relative;z-index:2;pointer-events:none;}.donation_banner .donate_btn{position:relative;z-index:2;}#sSHARED_-_Support_Block_0_0_14_0_0_3_1_0{color:#fff;}#sSHARED_-_Support_Block_0_0_14_0_0_3_1_1{font-weight:normal;}.sticky-sidebar{margin:auto;}@media (min-width: 980px){.main:has(.sticky-sidebar){overflow:visible;}}@media (min-width: 980px){.row:has(.sticky-sidebar){display:flex;overflow:visible;}}@media (min-width: 980px){.sticky-sidebar{position:-webkit-sticky;position:sticky;top:100px;transition:top .3s ease-in-out, position .3s ease-in-out;}}#sElement_Post_Layout_Press_Release__0_0_1_0_0_11{margin:100px 0;}.grey_newsblock .newsletter-wrapper, .newsletter-wrapper, .newsletter-wrapper.sidebar{background:linear-gradient(91deg, #005dc7 28%, #1d63b2 65%, #0353ae 85%);}.black_newsletter{background:linear-gradient(91deg, #005dc7 28%, #1d63b2 65%, #0353ae 85%);}.black_newsletter .newsletter_bar.newsletter-wrapper{background:none;}
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Today, nearly 50 organizations released the Green New Deal Champions Pledge, aimed at pushing candidates to champion the climate policy we need when in office, and to hold current members accountable to a standard of support for the Green New Deal.
It's been three years since Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey introduced the Green New Deal Resolution, which outlined a new vision for our country and our movement: one where we avert the worst of the climate crisis, create millions of good paying union jobs, and invest in communities on the front line of the climate crisis.
Since then, multiple pieces of substantial climate legislation, guided by communities at the frontlines of the climate crisis, have been introduced that build towards the Green New Deal. We know we need to win federal climate legislation to tackle this crisis, but we can't wait until we have the right majorities in Congress to get to work. We need to do everything we can right now, to pressure our elected officials to support the bills that will put us on the path to a Green New Deal -- that's how we'll set ourselves up to win legislation when the moment comes. The text of the pledge can be found here.
The Green New Deal continues to be popular with voters across the country. Recent polling from Data for Progress shows that Green New Deal bills have overwhelming support, while young people, a key voting block for Democrats, continue to support climate legislation and action by massive margins. The Green New Deal Pledge is expected to have the same effect as the popular No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge, which has changed the nature of campaigning since its establishment by toxifying money from fossil fuel lobbyists, PACs, and executives.
Progressive movement groups, sitting elected officials, and congressional candidates issued the following statements on the pledge:
"I'm proud to sign this pledge. Our generation will be facing the repercussions of the climate policy decisions we make in the years to come. We deserve representatives who are accountable to their constituents, not fossil fuel companies." Nida Allam, NC-04 Congressional Candidate
"Texas working families are seeing the climate crisis first-hand -- whether it's winter storms, flooding, or tornadoes in our backyards. We need to tackle this crisis. We can create good union jobs and preserve our planet for future generations. The Green New Deal does both." Greg Casar, TX-35 Congressional Candidate
"I'm proud to sign the Green New Deal pledge. Our communities here in Chicago are in crisis -- climate change is an existential threat, racial and economic injustices are raging. We need bold solutions like the Green New Deal that will combat climate change, environmental racism, and the injustices that persist in Chicago. And we need a new generation of leaders who will fight for the Green New Deal with the urgency that this moment demands." Kina Collins, IL-07 Congressional Candidate
"New York's 3rd District is a coastal community that has been ravaged by extreme weather events, pollution and that is quickly running out of drinkable water. We cannot afford more delays or half-measures. We need bold climate action now that matches the scale and urgency of this crisis. It is critical that we realize a Green New Deal." Melanie D'Arrigo, NY-03 Congressional Candidate
"Here in North New Jersey, we know what it means to be on the front lines of climate catastrophe. We've seen the devastation from Hurricanes Sandy and Ida. We've watched as generation after generation of our kids suffer from asthma, lead poisoning, and other environmental harm. We know what it means to have to fight developers for every tiny inch of green space. But we also know what it means to have a good union job. We know what happens when we invest in local schools and art institutions. We've gotten a taste of the good that can come from putting people ahead of profits. We know that a just transition to a green economy is not just a dream, but a necessity, and when I'm in Congress, I'm going to join the fight to bring this crucial Green New Deal framework to fruition." Imani Oakley, NJ-10 Congressional Candidate
"My community is hurting. The climate crisis has claimed lives and livelihoods. A rigged economy has left us with wages that are stagnant, businesses closing, and new job opportunities few and far between. The Green New Deal takes on the defining challenges of our time and transforms them into the pathway to a brighter future. For the air I breathe, for the people I love, and for the place I call home, I'm taking the Green New Deal pledge and look forward to supporting this legislation in Congress." Erica Smith, NC-01 Congressional Candidate
"I am immensely proud to be an original Green New Deal Champion with an amazing list of colleagues and friends. It is easy to say that climate change is an existential crisis, but words aren't enough -- we need real legislation that delivers rapid, comprehensive, transformative change. While organizers continue to strengthen and define the Green New Deal from the bottom, this project holds those in power accountable to the demands of activists and cements robust economic and racial justice standards in the Green New Deal. We have a long way to go, but I encourage every Congressperson to join me in taking this next step. Together, we will win a Green New Deal this decade." Representative Andy Levin, MI-09
"The Green New Deal is about jobs, justice, and dismantling systemic racism that's poisoning the lungs and futures of Black and Brown people in St. Louis and all across the country. We need to act now, and that means making sure politicians understand the urgency of this crisis. I'm proud to be part of an effort to hold people in positions of power accountable to the solutions we know are needed to address environmental racism, confront the fossil fuel industry, and realize true climate justice." Representative Cori Bush, MO-01
"Since I introduced the Green New Deal with Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, the climate crisis has only become more severe. We have to act now to deliver justice for communities on the frontlines of this crisis and create millions of green-collar jobs to save our economy and save our planet. I'm proud to stand with my colleagues in the House and Senate, and with an entire generation committed to climate justice, in the fight for a Green New Deal." Senator Ed Markey, Massachusetts
"The threat posed by the climate crisis is growing by the day and we need to come together to take aggressive action to create a more sustainable economy and promote environmental justice. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the Green New Deal resolution and I will keep fighting to pass my BUILD GREEN Infrastructure and Jobs Act to deliver robust federal investment to help fight the growing climate crisis, spur innovation, and boost demand for American-made clean energy products." Senator Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts
"The science is clear, climate change is at the root of many of our societal problems. From increasing catastrophic weather events to racial injustice and everything in-between, our most vulnerable communities continue to be harmed. That is why I support a Green New Deal, a growing package of bills which will ensure that our next generation can live healthy lives, access strong union jobs, increase climate resiliency, and ensure that all communities have the resources necessary to thrive. It is time to put climate justice at the forefront of our policy decisions, and I am proud to be a part of that fight." Representative Jan Schakowsky, IL-09
"There is no denying that the climate crisis is at our doorsteps and continues to disproportionately devastate young, Black, brown, and immigrant communities both in the U.S. and around the world. From undocumented farmworkers facing increasingly deadly wildfires in places like California to millions of climate refugees displaced by extreme flooding, droughts, and other disasters, it's clear that there is no climate justice without immigrant justice and racial justice. The Green New Deal Resolution, alone, is not enough to combat the worsening climate catastrophe. In order to ensure ALL communities are protected, elected officials must also deliver on other bold, progressive legislation that includes a pathway to citizenship for undocumented people without growing detention and enforcement, like the Dream and Promise Act, and helps pave the way for a more just future for Black and brown immigrant communities bearing the brunt of climate change." Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, Senior Advocacy Manager of United We Dream
"The Green New Deal means robust public investment to transition off of fossil fuels translating into unprecedented investment in the well-being of everyday working people -- our jobs, our utility bills, our health, and our future. The GND Pledge allows us to show candidates and the world what support for a Green New Deal really means, and allows us to talk about how the GND will deliver for working people. The Working Families Party is proud to support it." Maurice Mitchell, National Director of Working Families Party
"As fossil fuel corporations destroy our communities and profit off of working families at the gas pump, our government has yet to pass climate legislation that meets the moment of crisis. And yet, support for the Green New Deal has never been greater. That's why we're launching Green New Deal Champions because we need members of Congress and elected officials to fight as hard as they can for the Green New Deal. We must pass the climate bills that make the GND a reality -- the GND Resolution is our North Star and the GND bills help us get there." Varshini Prakash, Executive Director of Sunrise Movement
"The Green New Deal Champions effort provides an exciting opportunity to advance a transformative agenda to end the fossil era, help working people, and catalyze a just energy transition. Rejecting fossil fuel money and committing to these key bills to phase out fossil fuels and build an equitable clean energy future are now clear requirements for politicians claiming the mantle of 'climate leadership.' With dozens of critical primary and general elections this year, we'll see which candidates and elected officials are truly willing to stand up to Big Oil and Gas's lies and fight for our communities." Collin Rees, Political Director at Oil Change U.S.
"In order for the federal government to do big things, rural communities and their local leaders must be involved. That is what we have learned from our work advocating for the American Rescue Plan. The Green New Deal and its advocates recognize the wealth of contributions and thought partnership that come from America's diverse rural communities; rural communities are not only the places where carbon is absorbed, these are the frontline communities facing both the most intense climate disasters and also some of the most innovative economic transitions. The Green New Deal principles, in partnership with rural communities across the country, can help us all mitigate the worst of our possible futures." RuralOrganizing.org
The list of current Green New Deal Champions, Green New Deal Pledge Signers, and endorsing organizations are below:
Members of Congress Who Are Current Green New Deal Champions:
Congressional Candidates Who Have Signed the Green New Deal Pledge:
Political Partners:
Sunrise Movement is a movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process.
The head of Our Revolution called the GENIUS Act "a sham crafted by cryptocurrency giants that is certain to line the pockets of the Trump family's crypto empire."
As the Senate is reportedly poised to hold a Thursday procedural vote on legislation that would create a regulatory framework for a type of cryptocurrency called stablecoin, the group Our Revolution released a statement Wednesday denouncing Democrats for being "complicit" in the bill, which they say will likely enrich U.S. President Donald Trump.
Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, said in a Wednesday statement that the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is a "laughably weak and toothless regulatory bill—a sham crafted by cryptocurrency giants that is certain to line the pockets of the Trump family's crypto empire." Our Revolution is a progressive political organizing group launched as a continuation of Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) 2016 presidential campaign
"Let's be clear," Geevarghese continued, "Democrats are fully complicit in the grift, with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) leading the charge as the bill's original sponsor. We call on every senator who still gives a damn about democracy to shut down this outright sellout to the cryptocurrency industry."
Common Dreams reached out to Gillibrand's office for comment.
The bipartisan bill was originally co-sponsored by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), and Gillibrand. Later, Sen. Angela Alsobooks (D-Md.) became a co-sponsor as well.
The GENIUS Act, which is backed by the crypto industry, would make it easier for U.S. firms to do business in stablecoin, according to the The New York Times.
Several other crypto-friendly Democrats in the Senate had backed the GENIUS Act, but over the weekend pulled their support, citing a desire for stronger provisions on anti-money laundering, national security, and other issues. "While we are eager to continue working with our colleagues to address these issues, we would be unable to vote for cloture should the current version of the bill come to the floor," wrote the group, which did not include Alsobrooks and Gillibrand, in a statement on Saturday.
A spokesperson for Alsobrooks toldThe American Prospect on Monday that at the Senate Banking Committee markup, "Democrats received commitments to address concerns about the bill. Those commitments should be honored, and she supports her colleagues in their efforts to further improve the bill."
The bill may need as many as 10 Democrats to clear a procedural vote due to potential defections on the GOP side, according to Axios.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) unveiled the End Crypto Corruption Act, a proposal that would bar the president, vice president, members of Congress, and their immediate families from issuing digital assets, like stablecoins. Gillibrand has joined that bill as a co-sponsor.
Critics of the GENIUS Act, like Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) warn it would facilitate illicit activity and undermine consumer protection. Sanders warned on Tuesday that the GENIUS Act "makes it easier for President Trump and his family to continue to engage in corrupt dealmaking enabled through their cryptocurrency, to the great benefit of themselves and their tech oligarch backers."
Democratic lawmakers have voiced concerned about a recent Trump crypto revelation—that a stablecoin created by the Trump-affiliated World Liberty Financial crypto venture will be used to complete a $2 billion transaction by an Emirati-state owned investment firm.
And while some reporting suggests that Trump's crypto maneuvers are actually harming the chances that the GENIUS Act will pass, Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert said Wednesday that "all available signs point to Donald Trump trading deregulation of the crypto industry in exchange for personal and political enrichment."
"Crypto helped elect Trump, and now they are helping him add millions to his personal bank account," Gilbert added.
"Right, because the U.S. occupation of Iraq is certainly the best-case scenario for Gaza today," one critic quipped.
Reutersreported Wednesday that "the United States and Israel have discussed the possibility of Washington leading a temporary post-war administration of Gaza, according to five people familiar with the matter," sparking widespread criticism across the globe.
Responses to the reporting on social media included: "Bonkers." "Madness." "Crazy and dangerous idea, besides being illegal."
Under both the Biden and Trump administrations, the U.S. government has provided armed and diplomatic support to Israel in the wake of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack. The Israeli assault over the past 19 months has killed at least 52,653 Palestinians, with thousands more missing. Survivors have been repeatedly displaced and are struggling to find food thanks to an aid blockade.
According to Reuters, other unnamed nations "would be invited to take part" in the provisional U.S.-led administration, which "would draw on Palestinian technocrats but would exclude Islamist group Hamas and the Palestinian Authority."
As the news agency detailed:
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the talks publicly, compared the proposal to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq that Washington established in 2003, shortly after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
The authority was perceived by many Iraqis as an occupying force and it transferred power to an interim Iraqi government in 2004 after failing to contain a growing insurgency.
Several critics of the reported "high-level" talks also cited the United States' misadventures in Iraq in the early 2000s.
"This would be a rerun of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, but in a war-ravaged territory that isn't even a sovereign state and in which no American official has been allowed to set foot for two decades," said Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent for The Economist. "So bonkers, in fact, that whoever is floating this idea for Gaza is literally comparing it to the CPA in Iraq, an entity which two decades later remains a byword for waste, corruption, and incompetence."
Alexander Langlois, a contributing fellow at the foreign policy think tank Defense Priorities, quipped: "Right, because the U.S. occupation of Iraq is certainly the best-case scenario for Gaza today. Because that went so well the first time. It's clear Washington has learned nothing, in no small part because it refuses to actually reflect on such failures."
Journalist Bobby Ghosh said, "I'm guessing Paul Bremer has pulled on his boots and is waiting by the phone," a reference to the American diplomat who led the CPA in Iraq.
The "peace president" considers occupying Gaza on the model of the US occupation of Iraq. I wonder how that turned out. www.reuters.com/world/middle...
[image or embed]
— Daniel Chomsky (@danielchomsky.bsky.social) May 7, 2025 at 12:49 PM
While the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—a fugitive of the International Criminal Court whose government also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over conduct in Gaza—declined to comment, a spokesperson for U.S. State Department sent Reuters a statement that did not address the news agency's questions.
"We want peace, and the immediate release of the hostages," the U.S. spokesperson said, referring to captives taken by Palestinian militants in October 2023. "The pillars of our approach remain resolute: stand with Israel, stand for peace."
Earlier this week, Netanyahu's Security Cabinet unanimously approved Operation Gideon's Chariots, a plan that involves "conquering" Gaza, occupying the Palestinian territory, and forcibly expelling its residents to the southern part of the strip.
Israeli Cabinet Minister Ze'ev Elkin suggested Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump would not object to the plan, claiming, "I don't feel that there is pressure on us from Trump and his administration—they understand exactly what is happening here."
Trump in February proposed a U.S. takeover of Gaza. He said that "we'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings—level it out and create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area."
In response to Reuters' Wednesday reporting, University of Florida political science professor Michael McDonald nodded to those remarks, saying, "One step closer to Trump's dream of bulldozing Gaza to build Trump resorts."
Some critics connected the potential plan for Gaza to the Trump administration's other international endeavors. U.K.-based Jewish Voice for Labour said: "First Canada, then Greenland, now Palestine. This is what 21st-century imperialism looks like."
Johns Hopkins University historian Eugene Finkel—who was born in Ukraine and grew up in Israel—sarcastically said, "Because the U.S. does state-building, governance of places destroyed by U.S. weapons, and reconstruction even more effectively than Israel does conflict resolution."
"I was skeptical it was possible to produce something more unhinged than Trump's peace plans for Ukraine," Finkel added, "but hey, I've underestimated them."
"You haven't bombed any fighters or any weapons," said a restaurant owner in a neighborhood that was struck, addressing Israel. "You've only hit civilians."
"Death follows families in Gaza wherever they go," said the commissioner-general of a United Nations agency that has long provided aid and services to Palestinians in the enclave on Wednesday, as it was reported that nearly 100 people had been killed in numerous Israeli strikes across Gaza over the past day.
News outlets cataloged the latest deaths in attacks on restaurants, markets, and schools, with women, children, and two journalists who had covered Israel's U.S.-backed assault on Gaza among those killed.
At least 33 people were killed in Gaza City when an Israeli reconnaissance drone fired two missiles—one inside a restaurant that had served as a gathering place for residents recently and one at a busy intersection.
Freelance journalist Yahya Sobeih was among those killed—shortly after he had posted on Instagram about the birth of his new baby.
The owner of Palmyra restaurant on al-Wehda Street, Abu Saleh Abdu, told the BBC that many children and elderly people had been killed in the blasts. He was seen in a video angrily addressing the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
"What do [you] want to achieve?" he said. "You haven't bombed any fighters or any weapons. You've only hit civilians."
Israel and its allies including its top international military funder, the U.S., have persistently claimed the IDF is targeting Hamas and has inadvertently killed children, women, aid workers, and healthcare providers—but remarks from Israeli officials have pointed to an overall goal of targeting all Palestinians regardless of whether they are Hamas members or not.
"There is no reason to believe that doubling down on military strategies, which, for a year and eight months, have not led to a durable resolution, including the release of all hostages, will now succeed."
Other attacks over the past day include a strike at al-Karama school in the Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City, which killed at least 13 people; a strike on a home in Jabalia in which three people were killed; a bombing of a home in Khan Younis, which killed eight people including a father and his children; and a strike on a tent shelter in Deir el-Balah, which killed three people including a child.
At Al Jazeera, Hani Mahmoud reported that Palestinians—who are also facing increasing levels of acute malnutrition two months into a total humanitarian aid blockade—have been "scrambling for cover" across Gaza.
"We have confirmed that a farmer was killed in the eastern part of Khan Younis, in Abasan, as he was trying to harvest what he managed to plant in the past couple of months, making up for the lack of food," Mahmoud said. "This is one of the elements that we have been seeing quite visibly. Not only are they suffering on a daily basis because of the enforced starvation and dehydration, they [also] try to plant their own food, but they are deprived, and their abilities to do so are [thwarted] by the ongoing attacks."
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said that 19 months into Israel's bombardment of Gaza, "no place is safe. No one is spared."
"In Gaza, day after day, inaction and indifference are normalizing dehumanization and overlooking crimes livestreamed under our eyes: families bombed, children burned alive, children starved," said Lazzarini. "Enough. Humanity must prevail before losing all moral compass."
The bloodshed on Wednesday followed an attack on a school-turned-shelter in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza on Tuesday. The Palestinian Civil Defense released an updated death toll in that attack Tuesday night, saying at least 30 people had been killed and dozens had been wounded.
Israel is ramping up its attacks as officials have approved a plan to seize Gaza, forcibly displace Palestinians to the southern part of the enclave, and enlist private U.S. security companies to help it take control of aid distribution.
On Wednesday, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the plan fuels concerns that Israel's true intention is to make life for Palestinians "increasingly incompatible with their continued existence in Gaza."
"There is no reason to believe that doubling down on military strategies, which, for a year and eight months, have not led to a durable resolution, including the release of all hostages, will now succeed," said Türk.
Expanding Israel's attacks on Gaza "will almost certainly cause further mass displacement, more deaths and injuries of innocent civilians, and the destruction of Gaza's little remaining infrastructure," he said.
Independent human rights experts appointed by the U.N. said countries including the U.S. face a "defining choice... to end the violence or bear witness to the annihilation of the Palestinian population in Gaza—an outcome with irreversible consequences for our shared humanity and multilateral order."
"The world is watching. Will member states live up to their obligations and intervene to stop the slaughter, hunger, and disease, and other war crimes and crimes against humanity that are perpetrated daily in complete impunity?" asked the experts. "International norms were established precisely to prevent such horrors. Yet, as millions protest globally for justice and humanity, their cries are muted. This situation conveys a deadly message: Palestinian lives are dispensable, and international law, if unenforced, is meaningless."
"States must act swiftly to end the unfolding genocide," they said, "dismantle apartheid, and secure a future in which Palestinians and Israelis coexist in freedom and dignity."