Another young Palestinian girl was murdered, and the image of her body hanging from a wire with her legs shaved off has made its way around the internet. Yet the genocide continues. Lara and Michael discuss this, along with the mounting offenses at the Rafah border, the siege of Nassar Hospital, enforced starvation by the occupation and the celebration of this tactic by Israeli citizens. South Africa issues an emergency request for the ICJ to consider the bombings and ongoing attacks at the Rafah border as blatant non-compliance to their initial order which requires Israel to take all provisional measures to avoid a genocide. Michael discusses Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s “relevant partners” and Lara points out a damning statement from Rami Igra of the Mossad where he claims that all Palestinian children over the age of 4 are “involved” as a Hamas supporter. It’s another week of the occupation blocking humanitarian aid, targeting journalists, doctors, women, and children, and being fully transparent about the ongoing genocide.

The groundbreaking ICJ case proposed by South Africa against Israel has just closed, and Lara and Michael (mostly Lara) break down what it means. It’s important to remember that South Africa didn’t call for a ceasefire, as this is not legal terminology. All six counts brought against Israel were ruled in South Africa’s favor; these are 1) Israel must take all measures within it’s power to stop murdering & harming Palestinians and preventing their birth, 2) Israel must ensure that it’s military follow all measures from point 1, 3) Israel must prevent and punish all genocidal intent, 4) Israel shall ensure humanitarian aid to Gaza, 5) Israel must not destroy evidence related to these allegations, and 6) Israel must report back to the court in one month’s time. Lara does an excellent job of summarizing the court’s findings, and highlighting the myriad wins that stem from this case. This is among the first legal decisions to attempt to hold Israel accountable for their actions. Michael and Lara speak about how legislation + activism + boycotting as a unified force is the only way to ensure the Palestinian right of return and the end of apartheid and violence against Palestinians.

Lara and Michael are honored to welcome Plestia this week. 22-year old Plestia reported from Gaza from October 7th until recently, having spent over 100 days capturing the violence against Palestinians. She talks about what life was like in Gaza before October 7th, reminiscing about her favorite restaurants, cafés, and shopping areas. She gets candid about the bleak conversations she would have on a daily basis with her co-journalists, and she touches on survival guilt and how difficult it became to not pit one tragedy against another. Plestia is now safely in Australia but still involved in the Palestinian struggle for freedom and actively calling for a ceasefire.